The Legend of Zelda: The War with Nikitre
by Opal223
Summary: It's been two years since Link and Midna have defeated Ganon and Zant. Link has become quite the celebrity in Hyrule...but do the people he saved truly know about his life? This book is, in a sense, Twilight Princess Link's autobiography. :D Enjoy! Note: If you're going to read this, please read it from beginning to end. Otherwise it won't make a lot of sense. :D
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! This is my very first fanfiction. I have been working on it for the past 2 years and I'm happy to announce that it is completely finished! I would love to hear any criticism that you have for me, because it helps make me a better writer in the end. :) Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. I am writing a story for fun. :)**

Author's Note

I have always been a fan of "The Legend of Zelda." Twilight princess is one of my favorites. This book is based on Twilight Princess, but it's mostly what happened after the game! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy as you get a look into what Link's life could have been like.

Note: Don't overlook parentheses! They have important information regarding the book! Especially pay attention when they have the words "speaker's Note" or "Narrator's Note." Speaker's note is…you guessed it! A change in speaker. Narrator's note is a moment of narration when none of the characters are telling the story. This is needed because this book features a series of flashbacks, and changes in the speaker.

Prologue

"Memories are the little drops of water that create life's raging rivers. Without them, something's missing; wouldn't you agree, Link?" Rusl smiled.

I nodded. "Yeah." I looked at him and smiled. "Like all the memories that we've shared while sitting and talking on the banks of the Ordon Spring." That's what we were doing today.

"Exactly my friend." His smile was a little more bittersweet now. "I hate to bring this up, but…" I looked at him. "It is your father's birthday today, isn't it?"

"So it is." I said plainly, feeling uncomfortable.

Rusl sighed. "He was an amazing man; I should know because I was friends with him since I was the tender age of 4." He said while looking towards the water. "I'm sure that he can see from the heavens that you've become the man he's always wanted you to be. I'm sure he's so proud of you."

I smiled as he pat me on the back, but the good feeling didn't last long. "…Call me selfish…but I wish he was still alive." I looked at my feet. "There are still so many things that I wish he were here to teach me, I mean—"

"Have faith in yourself and your abilities; you'll learn what you need to know in due time."

"I hope…" There was a short span of silence between the two of us. The only thing I could figure was that we were taking in the beautiful vista of the spring during sunset. "…Speaking of memories and how lost a person can be without them, whenever I think about my last memories with my father, I get the strangest feeling; I can only remember the littlest details."

"You were only 7 at the time, I remember…so it makes sense." He said. "You and your father traveled to a different country for a week."

"Yes. He was hired by the Nikitrian royal family to protect their heirloom." I started to feel my eyes watering up. "And he—" I cleared my throat. "He died on the job, and I went home alone."

"That's why he taught you how to read maps at an early age." He said.

"Yeah…" I was quiet. I sniffled; turning my head away to hide the tears.

"You okay?" He looked worried for me.

"Yeah. Something's in my eye." I said to him, wiping away more tears.

"Let's not think about the bad in life right now. I can tell that I've done something wrong." He looked at me with sincerity. "I'm sorry…I just wanted to say that you have so many positive memories with your father, and that's what's important." He reassured me.

"You're right. I guess I just feel uneasy when I think about those last memories, I can't even remember where in Nikitre that he died, I can only remember the fact that we went there together for a period of time…and that a man in a hood killed him…"

He looked at me, obviously puzzled. "That's odd…you can't remember anything else? Not even anybody you or your father met while there?" I shook my head. "That's quite strange, I'll agree with you on that." He looked out at the water again. "I can't believe it's been 11 years since then. You have grown up fast." He stood up. "We ought to get back to the village. The sun's setting." He and I walked back into Ordon; he to his house, and me to my house for the night.

**…**

(Speaker's Note: 5 years later, meanwhile, in the country of Nikitre, the princess was preparing for her wedding that was just in seven days. Here's her side of the story.)

Syhnthia, one of the maids, came into my room. "Rose! Lights out, Dearie! You have your dress-fitting tomorrow!" She told me.

"Okay." I sat in my chair and thought to myself. I keep on thinking that something has gone array. My heart flutters with anxiousness for this day to come, but I feel…sad. "What is it?" I keep on asking myself…a girl should be happy to be this close to marriage! I have only been dreaming about it my whole life!

**Chapter 1: Memories**

I sighed in frustration, stood up and walked to my bedroom and got ready for bed. I sat in front of my vanity and combed my hair, struggling with a knot on the right side. After that I walked over to my bed and sat on it and then lied back and pulled the covers up to my neck. As I lied in bed staring at the cold stone ceiling I thought back to my childhood, particularly during the time I met my best friend. When did I meet him? I remember! That was 16 years ago when I was 7 years old…back in 1438. I fell asleep and began to dream.

**…**

"Look, Mommy!" A young girl beckoned her mother, jumping up and down in front of a pond. That's me…

"What is it, Rose?" My mother (Carol) called out to me. "What did you find, sweetheart?"

"I found a froggy!" I pointed at the pond. "In here!" It's my home…in Nikitre. It was sunny and warm that day.

"Let me see that, sis!" My older brother Tyler said. He's three years older than I am. He has red hair and grey eyes.

"Rrrrribbit" The frog bellowed in a low voice. The three of us giggled together in the warm embrace of the sunshine. I walked over to a nearby stone fountain. Looking at my reflection, I noticed that my pink dress was dirty from playing in the mud, and my spiral pigtails were messed up…but I didn't care. My bright blue eyes still glistened with glee.

I looked up at Carol when she spoke to me. "Let's go inside, run you a bath, and comb your hair." She said. She had brown hair and bright blue eyes, just like me.

"Okay." I said.

"You're soooo dirty! Haha!" Tyler laughed at me. I got into a huff about his teasing.

"Let me do that, your majesty." A young maid with straight black hair offered a helping hand for my mother. Her hazel eyes shined as she smiled.

"You really don't have to do that, Annie." Carol said.

"I insist. You must relax. You've been busy all day. I will make you some tea while I'm at it." Annie said.

"Alright." She reacted.

Annie looked at me. "I'll start the water for you." She began to walk inside our castle.

"Coming, Annie!" I ran after her as the sun began to set. I took my bath and changed into pajamas.

"Let's go comb that hair of yours, Rose." We went to my room. I sat at the same vanity that I did before falling asleep and having this dream. I smiled at the mirror as Annie reached for a brush and started to run it through my hair. Oh, how I loved the sensation of it massaging my head; it made me feel at ease. It didn't take long for the moment to be ruined when Tyler threw a frog into the room.

"HAZAAA!" MWAHAHAHAHA!" Tyler roared. I screamed.

"Ribbit." The frog bellowed.

"Get that out of here, Tyler! Take it outside, and then go to bed!" Annie yelled.

"Okay!" Tyler said as he stomped off.

"Boys." Annie said.

"Yeah." I said with a grin. "Boys."

She began to stroke my hair once more. "You have such rich brown hair…it's like it's made of chocolate…I'm so jealous!"

I blushed out of flattery. "Thanks, Annie."

"You have your mother to thank for that hair!" She smiled.

"Yep! Queen Carol Shikima!" I shined. "My Mommy!"

"Alright, time for bed." She said sleepily.

"No!" I shouted. "Story, Annie! Read me a story, first!" I insisted.

"Alright…" Annie sighed. "You have your father to thank for that stubborn personality."

"Yep! King Harold Shikima!" I saluted. "My Daddy!"

"What's this about me?" Harold said. I looked over and realized he was standing at my bedroom door. He came over and gave me a noogie. I looked at his black hair and green eyes.

"Daddy! Hello!" I saluted him and stuck out my lip to try and look serious.

He laughed at me. "You got pretty dirty your mother tells me!" He said.

"Yep! Playing with froggies!" I said exuberantly.

"You did, huh?" He laughed whole-heartedly.

"Why is that so funny, daddy?" I asked him.

"The way that you're so goofy and just don't care!" Harold said.

"Is that…bad?" I asked him with a frown on my face.

"No…It's wonderful." He assured me. He picked me up and twirled me around in a circle as I giggled.

"I want to change into normal clothes and go back outside, Daddy…can I?" I asked him.

"No, Rose…it is dark outside, go to bed." He said as he sat me down.

"Dang it!" I said with disappointment.

Annie read me a story and then I went to bed. Soon after I went to bed everyone else did too. As soon as I knew that everyone was asleep, I changed into a green dress and put my hair back in a ponytail. (My Mommy taught me how to do that!)

I snuck outside…not just to our courtyard, but off of our property…I knew not to leave our property, for everyone told me that; the maids, the royal guards, my parents…But I didn't want to listen to them! I wanted to explore! I snuck past the guards that had the night shift. That was easy, for they were all fast asleep. Off I went into the night! I ran on that cobblestone road past little stores and houses, running quickly enough for them to looked blurred in the darkness. Finally I was so full of fatigue that I felt like I couldn't go on. I sat on a bench; wide awake and smiling because of my hastened beating heart. How invigorating it was to run free! It was quiet. I took in my excitement and joy of feeling unconfined…that is, until I heard rustling in the bushes behind the bench. I got scared.

"Who's there?" I asked fearfully, not daring to look behind me. No answer. I stood up. Should I look? I started to look, but fear overcame me like a cold wind and I shuddered. I can't! What if it's a monster? I finally gathered up the courage to look behind the bushes. There was a little boy laying there. He was my age. Is he dead? I looked around frantically. I looked to my left, then to my right. A well! I ran over to it and pulled up the bucket. It was filled with mere water, but it was a little heavy for a 7 year old girl. It didn't help that it was a rather large bucket. I held the bucket with both hands and marched my way over to him like a stiff soldier. I was awfully slow and almost a little robotic with each step I took. When I reached the bush and the boy I heaved the bucket over my head and dumped the water on him. He woke with a jolt, looking up at me and shivering.

"Wh...Why did you do that?" He pondered timidly.

"The real question is…were you dead?" I asked stupidly. "Have you come back as a zombie? Should I run now?"

"Not trying to be rude, but you're weird." He told me.

I giggled. "It's okay. What's your name?" I asked him.

"Link the III. But people just call me Link." He replied. "Yours?"

"Rose." I said. I remember looking at his green clothes and brown belt. There were two belts, actually. One slung over his shoulder attached to a sword holster, which was holding a wooden sword, and the other around his waist. He also had brown hair, but lighter than mine. His dark blue eyes were cold with sorrow…something must be troubling him. "Why are you out here all by yourself? Where do you live? Your parents are probably worried, I'm sure…" I looked at him with concern. Why is a boy my age out here all by himself? That doesn't justify my behavior, but why him?

He stood up. "I was looking for my father…I lost him." He then began to cry. He looked ashamed of showing emotion, for he clenched his hands tightly by his sides and looked down at the ground. He then wiped away his tears and looked up at me with seriousness. "I need to find him! He's the only parent I have! I'm lost, tired, and rather hungry…"

I looked at him with sympathy, then at the eerily quiet streets and closed my eyes. "I'm sorry…" He just looked down at the ground again.

"You look like you have a mom and a dad." He said to me, looking back up at me.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "I do." I said.

"You look like you're rich because of your clothes. Lucky. You should get home before your family worries about you, Rose." He said with an unemotional voice. I then saw more tears fall from his eyes, but he tried to stay silent this time.

I looked at him as he sat back down on the bench. What do I do? Surely this is a sad story to hear…I'd hate to be out here all alone to take care of myself. Should I help him? That's what I'll do! "…I'll help you find your dad! We'll find him, I'm sure of it!"

He stood up. "Thank you…" He said to me. He and I smiled at each other and started walking together.

"Tell me about your daddy? What is he like?" I asked him, turning my head towards him and crossing my hands behind my back in a cutesy manner.

"My…my dad…" He smiled. "He's a swordsman!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I want him to teach me how to swordfight like he does!"

"He must be a skilled swordsman, huh?"

"Yep. He's one of the best."

"Do you know how to swordfight?"

"Yeah, I know how to swordfight, but not as good as my Dad does." We looked around town for a couple of hours and came up to a nearby hotel. A man also in green clothes stood there talking to the hotel manager, looking worried.

"He's seven years old." The man in green said. "He has the same name as me. 'Link.' He's about this tall." He showed Link's height with his hand. "Man! Where is he? I lost him in the crowd earlier this evening…I've been looking for three hours. Are you all having a festival or something?"

"No. We're just generally a busy-" The hotel manager managed to say before being broken off.

"DAD!" Link yelled and ran to the man. I smiled.

"There you are! I was afraid I had lost you!" He knelt down with his arms wide open and gave Link a hug.

"Problem solved!" The hotel manager grinned and went inside.

"Rose helped me find you!" Link said to his father.

"Rose, huh?" Link's father said. "By any chance, do they call you Princess Rose?"

"Yep!" I replied. Link stood there with his mouth wide open.

"Can you tell your father that we are here and that we'll come and visit in the morning?" Link's father asked.

"Sure." I said.

"Alright! Tell him it'll be 7:00am sharp!"

"Gothcha! See you then!" I replied. I waved good-bye as they waved back.

I arrived back at the castle within a couple of minutes. My father was waiting for me at the front door…oh, boy, did I get in trouble. I told my father what happened and he got mad at me for a while for leaving the castle, but he was glad I was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, everyone! Thanks for reading! I appreciate it! :DDD **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. I am writing a story for fun. :)**

**Where we last left off, Link and Rose met each other for the first time. Read on to see what happens next! **

Chapter 2: My Friend and Me

The next morning I dressed in an orange dress with a white sash tied around my waist, and a bow in the back. I had an orange headband with a white bow in my hair to match. I snuck into the throne room to see what was going on, for there was talk that Link and his father were here. Link and his father were here! I saw them in the throne room with my father and mother. Daddy told me not to meddle, but I couldn't resist, I hid behind a column in the throne room.

"What's going on?" I whispered to myself. "I mean, I know they were supposed to be here, but what for?" I listened in.

"Your Highness." Link's father gestured to my father. "I humbly come here at your service. Where is the heirloom that you wish for me to protect?"

"Right here." My father said. A servant came up with a box with a lock on it.

"Inside of this box con-" My father began.

"OH!" Link said in awe. "What is it, Dad? What is it? I want to know!"

"Son, please be quiet…" Link's father said. "It's rude to interrupt adults, especially when adults are talking about important matters. I'm sorry, but it isn't your business. Why don't you go play, if that's alright, Lord Harold?" He looked at my father.

"Yes, of course…he's a curious child. I have one of my own. I understand." My father smiled. "Go have fun, young Link." Link ran out of the throne room. I tried sneaking out of the throne room without my father seeing, but no such luck! "Rose, come here." My dad instructed.

"Argh!" I moaned and marched over to him. "Yes, Daddy?"

"What did I tell you about meddling in adult affairs?" He quizzed me.

"Oh, right." I said while frowning. "You said that 'it isn't right to meddle in adult affairs because adult affairs are meant for adults and not children.'"

"Exactly." Harold said. "So…why don't you go play and leave us to adult affairs?"

"Alright." I said. I ran off, feeling embarrassed.

Harold and Link's father laughed. "Goodness, I'm sorry, Link." Harold said.

"It's alright…I should be sorry for my son." Link's father said with amusement. "Your daughter is funny!"

"Your son's funny!" Harold roared with laughter. He regained composure. "Children are precious, they are the future."

"Yes, that's so true." Link's father agreed.

I went outside and found Link looking at the courtyard in awe.

"Hi, Link!" I smiled at him and waved.

He turned around and smiled back. "Hi, Rose."

I ran up to him. "What are you looking at?" I asked him.

"The fountain." He laughed. "Man, your home is huge!"

"Mm hmm…it sure is." I said while nodding. My hands were together behind my back and I was bouncing on the balls of my feet.

Link's Dad came outside. "What do you think about living here for a week, Link? Sound like fun?"

"You bet it does!" His face shined.

Link's Dad put his hand on Link's head. "Good!"

"Come on, Link! I'll show you some frogs!" I said excitedly.

"Okay!" He and I ran to the pond, only to find my brother…back from a sleepover with his friend Billy. Great…not! He can be a big jerk sometimes!

"Who's that, sis?" Tyler said.

I kicked my feet around. "A friend…are you gonna tease me?"

Link looked at me. "He's your brother?"

"Yeah. His name's Tyler." I replied reluctantly.

"He teases you?" He asked me.

"Yeah." I said quietly, fearing what was to come next.

"Lemme see…yep!" Tyler laughed. He grabbed a frog and put it in my hair.

"EEWW! I like frogs, but not in my hair, brother!" I complained.

"Can you please stop doing that, Tyler?" Link asked. "Rose's my friend, and I'd like to be friends with you, too…so can you please stop?"

"Think you can stop me?" Tyler questioned. "HA! I'm three years older than the two of you!"

"That may be true, but that doesn't always mean that you're wiser, brother!" I tittered.

"Hey, stop it!" Tyler demanded.

I was mad now. "NO!" I stamped my foot hard on the ground. "I'm tired of you making fun of me, brother!"

"Well, I won't ever STOP making fun of you, sis! So there!" Tyler argued.

Link went over to the pond while Tyler and I continued to fight. He went up behind Tyler and put a frog on top of his head.

"EEWW! It's slimy!" Tyler yelled while stomping his feet.

"How's that for a taste of your own medicine?" Link chortled.

"Haha, brother!" I giggled. Tyler ran off. I looked at Link and beamed. "Thanks, Link."

"You're welcome." He smiled.

"Let's go look at more frogs!" I led him to the pond.

"Okay."

"There are green ones and tan ones, but that's it. Nothing that's real colorful, but still cool!" I said as I reached my hand into the water.

Link reached his hand into the water for a couple of minutes. "I found a tan one!" Link shouted.

"Lemme see!" I said excitedly as he took it out of the water. It was huge and let out the biggest croak ever! He and I snickered. He put it back into the water after we petted it.

I then found a green one. I was sooooo excited! "Look! A green one, Link! It matches your clothes!"

"Yeah!" He and I laughed as the frogs hopped around the lily pads.

Little did we know my father was showing Link's father where we keep the family heirloom? The family heirloom is a necklace that has a purple glass teardrop on it. The purple glass teardrop possesses great magical power. It has the ability of doing almost whatever its holder desires. The only thing that it can't do is bring someone back to life. Because of that, it needs the best protection that it can get! My father requested that Jhock the sorcerer make a magical box that could give it the best protection possible, but it'll take a week to make and infuse with a spell…it has to have all sorts of locks and stuff on it! How do I know this? I eavesdropped on my father when he was talking to Jhock. Anyway, my father knew about Link's father being such a skilled hero and swordsman. He figured that he'd be able to protect the necklace until the new box was done. The necklace and its current box are kept in a special room. That room is our "treasure room." It's where we keep all of our gold and other fancy valuables! The room's door is an iron door with three locks on it, one with a combination, one that's magically enhanced and voice activated, and one that's just a regular door lock. We don't want anyone stealing anything from in there! The box containing the necklace is on top of a small table in there. My Daddy's paying Link's father 2,000 rupees for watching the box for the week! That's a lot of rupees!

When it started to get dark outside, Link and I headed inside. It was 9:30, so he and his father went to the guest bedroom to stay, and I went to my room and got ready for bed. My brother got to stay up, not too much later…but then again he was older than me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for still reading this! I got my first review, and I'm excited to bring you all more! :DDD**

******Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. **

**Where we last left off, Link and his father have been staying in the castle. What will happen next? Read on! :)**

Chapter 3: A Really Close Call

Throughout the week Link and I got to know each other a lot more. He also got to know Tyler more. We were truly becoming best friends! We both knew that he would have to go home at the end of the week, but we decided that we'd write letters to one another to keep in touch. Later that week, something terrible happened. It happened the night before Link and his Dad were to leave for home. Link's Dad was at his post guarding the heirloom, just minding his business…

Suddenly a man in a white hooded cape was spotted on castle grounds. The guards tried to stop him, but he knocked them out of his way using lightning bolts that shot out of his hand. That's not good, he must know magic! He had managed to kill six guards with his magic! He was preparing to enter the castle, but Link's father was standing there at the entrance. He already warned my father of the attack, and my father responded by going to protect us and our valuables. He took me, Link, my Brother, my Mom, and the maids into the treasure room to keep us safe. The guards were out there trying to help Link's Dad. We all looked out the window to watch the fight. Link's father slashed at the man, he slashed at Link's father…it felt like it would be a never-ending battle! I was really scared.

"Don't worry." Link smiled. "My Daddy's got it handled!" Just then the man shot multiple lightning bolts at Link's father. Link's father stabbed the man and the man stabbed him at the same time. The man fell to the ground first, and then Link's father fell to the ground. Link stared in shock for about two seconds, and then bolted outside; not aware of the danger of going outside, in case the hooded-man was still alive. Tyler stared outside with horror.

"Link! I tried to run after him, but my father suppressed me. I stopped pulling and my father let go.

"Bingo!" I thought to myself as I sprinted down the stairs and outside to see Link and his father.

"Rose!" Harold yelled. "Guards, after her!" They tried coming after me, but I was too fast, and they weren't sure what to do. All they could do was watch.

I finally reached Link and his father. Link was wailing, looking at his father's gaping chest wound.

"Link's Dad!" I cried out.

"DADDY!" Link screamed, clutching his father's shirt. I stared in disbelief as Link put his head on his father's chest. "Don't die!" He shouted in despair. I fell to my knees.

Link's father put his hand on Link's back. "Link…I'm sorry." He coughed with exhaustion. "I…guess it's my time to go…" He took a deep breath. "I love you dearly, son..." He said weakly.

"Daddy!" Link sobbed, heavy tears streaming down his face.

"Don't ever forget what our family does." Link's Dad spoke to Link. "What do we do, son?"

Link sniffled. "We protect people!"

"That's right, son…" Link's Dad smiled. "Whenever there's someone in danger we help them; no matter what…" He paused, breathing heavily. "I risked my life because I knew that everyone here would be in danger if that man was able to do his evil deeds!" He took a deep breath. "Take the small sword and shield out of my pack, it's yours. I meant to give it to you on our way back home, since your eighth birthday is in 6 days, but I won't live for that, son…"

"Don't go, Daddy! I love you! Don't die!" Link yelled.

"I love you too, son…" He shut his eyes and took a final breath. "Goodbye…" He said breathily. There was an eerie peace in the air; the only noise being the moaning of the wind.

"He's…dead…isn't he?" I said mournfully, tears falling down my cheeks.

"DADDY!" Link screamed at the top of his lungs. He put his face in his hands and sobbed. He lifted his head and went over to his father's pack. He took out the sword and shield from inside as he continued to cry.

"I'm so sorry this happened, Link." I said sorrowfully. He put the sword and shield on his back.

Everyone began to calm down, because the threat was gone, or at least they thought. Little did I know that the man in the hooded cape was coming up behind me? He was still alive?

Link had a surprised look on his face. He grabbed my hand, and pulled me behind him. "Watch out, Rose." He said. He reached behind his back to grab his sword. "DON'T MESS WITH ME!" Link yelled. "I'm here to protect my friends, no matter what! I won't let you harm them, you hear me!" He charged at the man with his sword.

"Hmph!" He snorted. "What are you going to do? You're just a little kid!"

"BRING IT ON!" Link screamed. I panicked. I didn't want him to get hurt; he's my friend! I ran upstairs to the treasure room, past my father, and grabbed the key to the box that contained the necklace. I grabbed the necklace and tried to dash out of the room, when my father got in front of me.

"What are you doing, Daughter!" Harold yelled.

"Helping out!" I said with tears streaming down my face. "I don't want my friend to get hurt! Please let me pass!"

"I can't let you pass!" He said sternly, looming over me like an armed fortress.

"DADDY!" I screamed. "I need to help him! Please!"

He hesitated. "…Okay…but don't you dare get yourself hurt, or even worse, killed!"

"Thank you, Daddy!" I yelled as I hustled down the stairs, almost tripping. I ran in front of Link with the necklace in my hand.

"Rose!" Link yelled.

"I want this man to go away!" I yelled, holding the necklace out in front of me. A black hole appeared out of thin air and with the aid of lightning bolt shooting out of it; the man was killed and then sucked into the black hole. I scuttled to Link and his deceased father. I knelt down on the ground again. I stayed silent as Link blubbered. I looked to my side to where I came outside from. I spotted my father, mother, and everyone else coming outside. My father and mother came over to Link and me, making sure we were okay.

"I'm sorry about your loss, Link…" My father said.

"I'm sorry too, Link." Tyler said.

He looked up at my father and my brother. His eyes filled with tears and he hung his head in grief, tears dropping to the ground.

"Do you want me to cover your father's body and put it in a casket for now?" My father asked him. Link nodded.

My father had the guards cover Link's father's body with blankets and place it in a wooden casket.

That next morning, Link had his things packed, along with his father's belongings. He went into the room where his father was kept, eyeing the casket. My father and I came into the room.

"Oh! Hi there, Link…" My father said.

"Hi, Link." I said, smiling in attempt to cheer him up.

"So, you're almost ready to head home, huh?" He inquired.

"Yeah." Link sighed. "I just don't know what to do with my Dad's body, though…" his eyes were misty.

"What do you think you should do, Link?"

"Take him home…it's the least I can do for my father…" Link said with his eyes downcast.

"Should I cremate his body so you can take him home in an urn?"

"Sure." Link replied.

"Let me know when you're ready." He said, stepping out of the room.

"…You're heading home today, huh?" I asked him.

"Yes…I am." Link replied.

"I'd like to come to Hyrule someday…I'm sure that would be fun!" I grinned. He still wouldn't budge…it was sad to see him heartbroken. "Link?" I said with curiosity.

"Yeah?" He said despondently.

"When are you going to cheer up?"

"When I die." He said sharply. He tried to leave the room, but I stopped him.

"I know it's sad that your daddy died, but you can't stay depressed forever!" I said somberly.

"You're right. It's just…hard…"

I looked down to the ground. "I'm really sorry this happened…"

"I'm going to talk to your dad." Link said as he walked out of the room.

"Alright." I responded. Link walked over to my father and told him that he was ready to cremate his father's body.

"I just…don't want to see it done…" Link said.

"Okay…" My father replied. He called out to one of the guards and had him cremate Link II's body. After the body was cremated and placed in an earth tone vase, Link prepared to leave. He said his farewells to almost everyone…the last person that he needed to say goodbye to would be me. He came up to me, his eyes a little red from crying.

I gave him a hug. "We'll always be friends, no matter what!" I smiled.

He was apparently surprised that I hugged him because he was blushing. "Definitely!" He grinned at me. He looked down at his father's vase and his jubilant smile faded.

"Don't forget about me, okay?" I said as he put the vase in Epona's pack and prepared to mount her. She was then just a pony. (Note: She is Epona the III.)

"Don't worry, I won't." He smiled a half smile; for he still had pain in his heart. He mounted Epona and headed off, waving goodbye. It wasn't until after he left that I realized something important…we never traded addresses…

That's alright…chances are we'll see each other again…

**…**

Narrator's Note

A year after Link and Rose met Link was fairly well-adjusted to the fact that his father had passed. He began to live with Rusl. Colin wasn't born yet, so there weren't any additional complications. Rusl became a bit more of a father figure to Link during this time. During that first year since Link's father's death, havoc took place between Hyrule and Nikitre.

Money in the amount of 1,000,000 rupees was stolen from the Nikitrian royal family, along with other valuables adding up to the amount of another 1,000,000 rupees in worth. It was a Hylian that did it. He tried to return home, but the Nikitrian Royal Guard apprehended the criminal and arrested him with no trial. He was to be hanged for such a crime.

The King of Hyrule was outraged! He thought that the hanging of that one man for robbery was completely unethical. A couple of months later there was a "Monarchy Meeting" that took place in Nikitre. A "Monarchy Meeting," (a made-up term) is when royal leaders from different corners of the globe meet to discuss financial and governmental issues and try to come up with solutions as a group. During the meeting, the King of Nikitre and the King of Hyrule had an absolute spitting match!

"Gee!" Harold said sarcastically. "I wonder why our country has lost 2,000,000 rupees! Perhaps the KING OF HYRULE KNOWS SOMETHING ABOUT IT?" He yelled.

"GEE!" The King of Hyrule said sarcastically as well. "I wonder whatever happened to the life of the man that NEVER RETURNED HOME WHEN VISITING NIKITRE! PERHAPS HE WAS HANGED BY A CERTAIN ANTAGONIST RULER!" He yelled back.

"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS IN MY KINGDOM!" Harold screamed. They both began to throw punches at one another. They then drew daggers. The other members of the "Monarchy Meeting" tried to restrain the two of them.

Poor Rose…she witnessed the whole thing occur as she knelt behind a column in the throne room.

Her mother came up to her. "You don't need to witness this type of violence…to your room." She said sternly with the point of a finger at the stairs.

"But mommy…" Rose complained.

"Go." She said firmly, pointing again towards the stairs. Rose walked to her room. Fortunately the two men weren't seriously injured.

The predicament between Hyrule and Nikitre escalated. It involved the two sides playing cruel tricks on each other…for instance, the kidnapping and ransom of any visitors of the opposite country, and eventually the immediate execution of anyone who came to visit from the other country.

About a couple of months later it was decided that Hyrule and Nikitre were to go to war. Because of this, Rusl was concerned that Link knew anyone from Nikitre, and believed it could lead to conflict in his future. He decided to go to Telma's Bar and talk to her. He didn't want Link to remember anyone from Nikitre. After talking to Telma the two went to visit a local magician for assistance.

"Well, I think that I have a medicine that'll make Link forget anyone he knew in Nikitre." The magician said. "I'll just infuse this amnesia solution with magic." He pulled out a spell book. He chanted a spell and requested that it make Link forget anyone he knew in Nikitre. It was a very shiny yellow-gold powder. He poured it into the amnesia solution. "Now it is time for Telma to make this solution delectable."

"Got it!" Telma grabbed out a glass of milk. The magician added the magical amnesia solution to it. Rusl had Link come into Telma's Bar and drink the milk. When he was finished, he fainted.

"Oh, dear!" Telma said with concern.

"It's for the best…" Rusl commented. A few hours later Link woke up, rubbing his head.

"My head hurts." Link whined. He didn't remember anything about Rose, Harold, Carol, Tyler, the guards, or the maids. For some reason, he only remembered the hooded man.

Every person from each country knew of the war. Royal armies from both sides engaged in battle between each other. It eventually became such a frequent piece of news to Hyrule that the country's people seldom discussed it with one another, for many of their loved ones had lost their lives. Besides, almost all of the battles took place outside of Hyrule's walls.

By the time that Gannon sought out revenge in Hyrule, ("Twilight Princess" :) The war between Hyrule and Nikitre was all but completely forgotten. Link was 16 at the time that he met Midna and saved Hyrule.

Link became a HUGE celebrity in Hyrule after his triumphant act of heroism. (All the girls were obsessed with him! :) He, however, didn't have a lot of luck in the dating category! He tried to date Ilia, but it didn't work out. They went on one date to Telma's Bar. It was very awkward, so they're just friends. He tried dating Midna before she left Hyrule for the Twilight Realm. It was awkward because they kept butting heads! Dating Zelda didn't go well, either. They lasted longer, but Link called it off before they got very serious. There was one common factor…Link wasn't ready for a relationship. It seemed he'd never get a girlfriend!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters.**

Chapter 4: 18 Years Old…Adulthood

(Speaker's Note: Rose tells the story.) Link and I never saw each other again…to this day, I wonder if he remembers me and if our paths will ever cross…he'll always be one of my best friends. (Speaker's Note: Let's get Link's side of the story!)

**…**

After defeating Gannon, I pursued a full-time job of protecting people and working for the Hylian royal family. Two years after the defeat of Gannon, it was the ten year anniversary of the war with Nikitre. I didn't really care, "just don't make me get involved!" I'd say to myself. I'm 18 now, a full-fledged adult. Today I was summoned by the King of Hyrule for another mission. I anticipated the news for the details of the mission as I headed to Hyrule Castle.

I knelt down in front of the King of Hyrule on one knee, sword and shield at the ready.

"Hello, Link." The King of Hyrule smiled.

I smiled back at him. "Good Morning, my lord."

"Your mission is to investigate…" he paused. "…knowing you, you may not like where you are to investigate…" Then there was another pause as he pondered what to say. "…perhaps I should get someone else to do this mission?" The King of Hyrule said.

"I don't care where it is, sir…I will still take the mission nonetheless." I told him.

"Nikitre." He said.

My heart sank, but I tried not to show it. I took a deep breath. "Alright."

"You are to investigate Nikitre with caution, and see what they have planned to do to try to get up ahead in the war. Pay particular attention to the royal family." He explained.

"Yes sir." I said as I saluted him, and then turned to leave.

"Before you leave Hyrule…" He said.

"Yeah?" I questioned.

"Report to the Mirror Chamber…" He said. "I will meet you there."

"Okay." I went out of the castle and reported to the mirror chamber. I wonder what's going to happen. Nothing important really occurred heading to the mirror chamber…it just took a long time to get there. It would really have helped me if Midna was still here to teleport me there. When I got there, the King of Hyrule stood on the platform where the mirror would have been if it wasn't destroyed. He put out his hand and used magic to create a new mirror from the sand around him.

"You are to retrieve Midna and bring her back into this world." He said.

I stared at him in disbelief. "Why didn't you do that before?" I said. "Not meaning to be rude, but there have been a lot of times when I've needed Midna!"

"She truly is needed on this mission." The King of Nikitre said seriously. "It's going to be treacherous. No one will be there to help you…they'll try to kill you if they can, and we can't have that happen!"

"Right." I said. I went into the mirror. When I arrived, the Twili people looked at me weird. "HUMAN! HOW?" They yelled.

I sighed. "I'm looking for Midna."

"Midna!" One of the Twili stared at me. He ran inside the castle.

I was confused. Was he getting her or running away like a coward? "Terribly sorry, sir." Another Twili said to me. "He's going to get her."

"Ok…Thank you." I said.

Midna came outside. As soon as she saw me, she gestured for me to go home. "Go away." She waved her hands as if I was of unimportance.

"I can't, Midna." I said to her. "I have a mission that requires your assistance."

"How'd you get in here?" She asked.

"The King of Hyrule used magic to create a new mirror. Hyrule needs you to help me…please…" I begged her.

"Okay…but if anything happens that I don't like, I'm coming back here!" She said. "And don't think I'm always going to help you that easily! I don't have anything to do right now, and I'm bored!" She said as she packed a bag. Shortly thereafter she went outside of the castle, telling the Twili to go about their business and having one of them watch over the Kingdom.

We came back to Hyrule via mirror. Midna looked surprised when she saw the King of Hyrule standing there. He held out his hand and turned her into the midget that we all know. (And love! :)

"This is a joke!" She said angrily, turning around to head back into the mirror.

"It isn't." The King of Hyrule said. "You need to be your small self in order to help Link." I was standing behind her. When she turned around I put my finger out and touched her nose as she tried to push past me. She stared at me with rile, but soon gave up.

"Is this another adventure?" She asked the King of Hyrule.

"Yes." He replied. Her jaw dropped…she was not excited! "It won't be as big of an adventure as defeating Gannon was, but it'll be dangerous. You will both leave Hyrule and go to Nikitre."

"Where the heck is that?" Midna asked rudely.

"It's an island country. It'll take about a week to get there." The King of Hyrule answered. He then whispered to me. "Did you ever mention the war with Nikitre to her?"

"Nope. Not a word." I said with a grin.

"That would explain things!" He laughed. "Alright…you should tell everyone goodbye…you'll probably be gone at least a couple of months."

"Months?" She complained.

"Alright." I said, dragging her by the arm while she threw a fit. We headed to Ordon Village and I said farewell to everyone. It was upsetting when it came to saying goodbye to Colin. When I told him the news he looked so sad.

"Do you really have to go that far away?" He questioned me.

"Yeah." I said. "I have to do this for Hyrule."

"Okay. Come back safe." Colin saluted me.

I patted him on the head. "I will." I said.

Ilia came up to me. "Don't get yourself killed! Got it?" She said with a bossy tone.

"Okay." I said, taken aback and holding up my hand in oath. "You have my word." She smirked.

When Rusl heard of the news, he looked really worried. When I asked him, he insisted that it wasn't anything I had to worry about. "It's just that it's a hazardous mission, Link." He looked like he was scared about something more…he's probably just apprehensive about me.

I mounted Epona, and with that we were on our way to Nikitre. We went through the forest, and after traveling for about a day we were completely out of the vicinity of Hyrule, something I hadn't done ever since I was seven. Midna and I began to talk.

"So…Hyrule is in war with Nikitre?" She asked me.

"Yeah…they've been at it since I was eight years old." I answered.

"Wow. Why don't they just stop the war? It's meaningless to have a fight go on for that long…then again, you humans do tend to keep grudges…"

"That's the exact reason why it goes on to this day." I said sadly.

"How do you feel about Nikitre? What's your side on the war?"

"I loathe Nikitrians. They killed my father…"

She looked at me with surprise. "…Really?"

"Yes. When I was seven, the first and last time I was in Nikitre, a Nikitrian man in a hooded cape stabbed my father and left him to die. He came at my father without mercy…I can never forgive those Nikitrians."

"That's sad…but you can't stay depressed forever…" Midna said.

I looked at her, dumbfounded. "How can't I be?" I looked ahead of me and took a deep breath. I then began to think to myself in the moment of silence that occurred.

"Why did you look at me like you were dazed?" She inquired.

I turned to face her. "I don't know why, but I swear I've heard that before somewhere…" I reacted. "… 'You can't stay depressed forever…' Where have I heard that?"

"That's odd…must have been a dream or something that you had…or something someone from back at home said."

"You're probably right."

"So…You hate all Nikitrians?"

"Yes."

"Here's the problem with that…only one person killed your father, right?" She pointed out.

"Right." I answered.

"Well, you shouldn't judge a whole group of people for what one person did! That's really unmerciful and intolerant."

I looked down towards the ground. "Aren't you going to say something?" She looked at me.

"Let's just get off this subject." I said curtly. I wasn't going to agree with her, no way! I know that every single Nikitrian has evil in them! Even if they hide it!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. I am writing a story for fun. :)**

Chapter 5: Tragedy Strikes

Three days later we arrived at the ocean in Termina. From here we will board a ship for three days and then be in Nikitre.

"Man! The ocean's pretty!" Midna said happily. "Just think, when we get to Nikitre we'll be surrounded by it! It'll be really cool!"

"Yeah…" I said sarcastically.

"Okay…I'll stop trying to cheer you up." She said with annoyance.

After three days on the boat I was just ready to get off and get this mission over with! Thank goodness I saw the shores of the Nikitrian islands that morning! We were to get off of the boat at the smallest of the three islands, Yokarale (yo-kah-rah-lay). We got off of the boat and Midna wanted to sightsee.

"Don't you remember?" I yelled at her. "We aren't really welcome here!"

"Okay! Quit yelling! Sheesh!" She shouted. "Well, what do we do?"

"Find out everything that we can about Nikitre in in the next couple of months…the King of Hyrule said to especially focus on learning about Nikitre's royal family." I told her. "We need to try to go about unnoticed and unharmed."

"Let's find some disguises, then!" She smiled her mischievous smile. "At least I can stay disguised and won't need one!"

"What are you going to put me in?" I said accusingly. She didn't answer.

We went over to a little shop that sold clothing and other odds and ends. She grabbed a bright pink shirt and orange pants. She smiled. "How about this for you?"

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!" I whispered angrily to her.

"I'm kidding!" She laughed.

"Okay…" I said.

She grabbed some jeans and a black shirt. (That type of clothing probably wasn't sold back then, but hey, it'll look cool! :) "How's this?"

"Alright." I said.

"You'll have to lose your hat, too." She said as she took off my hat.

"Hey!" I looked at her with rage.

"Remember…" She said to me. "You need to stay undercover…only take out your sword and shield when you have to."

"Okay." I said. When we paid for our things and left the store, I changed into my new clothes. Midna put my real clothes, my sword and shield, and my hat in one of the packs strapped to Epona. I mounted Epona and Midna hid in my shadow, as usual. It was sort of weird, though…when I went past a group of girls they stared at me…Why?

"I think they like you!" Midna mocked me.

"Stop!" I whispered with annoyance.

"Okay…cranky!" She cackled.

I just tried to stay composed. Just then, a young woman with Red hair and brown eyes got in front of me.

"Huh?" I said as I stopped Epona.

"Can you…" She took a bag of groceries from another woman. "…Can you help me carry these heavy groceries?" She asked me in a southern accent, batting her eyelashes.

"Sorry, ma'am." I said, grabbing at my shirt collar with nervousness. "I can't…I'm busy…"

"Are you busy this weekend?" She pondered.

"YES!" I yelled and then quickly calmed down. "Very busy, miss."

"Oh…that's a shame…" She walked away.

"You really aren't used to women, are you?" Midna said.

"You hit that one right on the nail!" I laughed. A few minutes later another woman got in the way. She was a little older. "Oh, no…" I said. Midna laughed.

"Do you have a sword?" She asked me. "Please tell me you do!" She looked beaten up.

"Yeah…I do…why, ma'am?" I asked her.

"My poor little girl…her name is Marie…she's been kidnapped!" She cried.

"I'll help you! Please don't cry, miss!" I said. "Where did you last see your daughter?"

"At the park. There was a man in a blue shirt, blue pants, and a blue mask that covered his whole head. He took her from me! He demanded that I tell him about a treasure. I knew about the treasure that he wanted, but there was no way I'd tell him anything! I tried fighting him, but he just threw me to the ground!" She said with worry.

"Don't fret." I said. I headed off towards the park.

"Thank you, sir!" The woman yelled.

I came up to the park to see the same man that the woman described. He was holding a little girl by the hand, tying her to a tree. "Help!" The little girl screamed. She looked about five years old.

"That must be Marie." I whispered to Midna. I grabbed out my sword and shield and snuck up on the man.

"Look, lady…" The man said, not facing me. "You won't tell me where the heirloom is, so maybe this little brat'll know!" I came a little bit closer, but he still didn't face me. "Quit trying to come after me! You'll only frustrate me more! Besides, you're probably badly hurt…you don't want your daughter to see me kill you, do ya?" I took another step forward. "You're going to take the hard route, huh? Well, then!" He grabbed out a dagger and turned around to see me with my sword and shield. He looked at me with an astonished look on his face. "W-Who are you?"

"A man that you don't want to mess with!" I yelled. "Let go of that little girl!"

"Yay!" Marie shouted with glee.

"What if I refuse?" He asked me.

"You don't want to know!" I smiled with confidence.

He used magic to teleport all of us into a cave. "You don't intimidate me!" He yelled. It was dark in there…we were obviously deep inside of the cave, for I couldn't see an exit. Midna came out from my shadow. I could see her, but only her eyes.

"Give back that little girl now!" I demanded. "What you're doing isn't right!"

"I'm going to ask you one more time, little girl, where is the Nikitrian royal family's precious heirloom? Tell me or face terrible consequences!" The evil man commanded.

"Never!" Marie said unyieldingly. He laughed evilly. The only light I saw was when he created a glowing red sphere in his hand. He shot the red sphere towards the ceiling of the cave. I heard a rumble as it came in contact with the top of the cave. A giant boulder fell on my legs from fifty feet above. I screamed in unbearable pain.

"Link!" Midna appeared and tried to get the boulder off of me, but the man shot another sphere, this one being yellow and able to float, and it caught Midna. She tried using her powers, but she couldn't. It drained her strength using magic. She was able to stay awake, though, just not able to move. Marie ran over and tried to get the boulder off of me, but the man grabbed her and put her in another floating yellow sphere. She began to lose her strength. I began to lose my strength because of the pain on my legs being so unbearable. The boulder was big enough to weigh at least a ton. The man then used magic to levitate the boulder and throw it down on my legs again.

"You can't save anyone if you're not able to move!" He laughed maniacally. He threw the boulder on me about five more times before I screamed in agony and lost consciousness.

"Link!" Midna yelled. (Speaker's Note: Midna tells the story.)

While everyone except for me and the bad guy were unconscious, a man came in to rescue me, Marie, and Link. He had red hair and grey eyes. He freed me from the orb using magic of his own and I took the boulder off of Link. He was still unconscious, though. The man with red hair freed Marie using the same method. He injured the man that injured us, but he wasn't able to kill him. The man that injured us ran off and got away. Marie gained consciousness, but I got scared when Link was the only one still unconscious. I decided to lift him using my powers and take him outside.

"Who are you?" The man that rescued us asked me.

"I'm Midna." I said. "I help out this guy." I pointed to Link. "Yours?"

"Tyler." He said. "That man you 'help out' looks strangely familiar…are you two Hylian?"

My jaw dropped. "Yes. Well, he is at least." I whispered. "But you aren't supposed to know that…"

"He's a Hylian?" Marie said with surprise.

"What is that man's name?" He asked.

I paused. "…Link…" Marie looked at Link.

"He's an old friend of your cousin Rose." Tyler said to Marie.

"Wow…she knew this guy?" Marie said. I was absolutely confused.

He turned back to me. "I knew that I knew him from somewhere. He and his father came to visit 11 years ago…I didn't think he'd ever come back. This is a bad time for him to be here, though…I'm sorry, but I don't have respect for Hylians like him… He's no longer welcome here and I will not give him any more help, no matter how much you beg me…little imp…" I looked at him with anger.

"Why?" Marie pondered him.

"Because he's Hylian…" Tyler said. "Nikitrians hate Hylians…we're Nikitrian…therefore we must hate Hylians. It is this way because of the war."

"Look…" I said, gritting my teeth in irritation. "I'm not Hylian or Nikitrian…so this isn't really any of my business…but that Hylian is my friend! I don't want you to treat him with disrespect as long as I'm here! And how DARE YOU CALL ME AN IMP!" My voice was escalating.

"A Nikitrian should never treat a Hylian with respect; they are the enemy…" Tyler said.

"…Why are you acting so immature, Tyler?" A young woman of about eighteen walked up to us. She had rich brown hair and bright blue eyes. She wore boots, tan-colored leggings, and a long, white tunic-style shirt. She had a basket with her and a knapsack.

"This is none of your business, Rose!" Tyler yelled. "Don't meddle in my business!"

"You're the one telling our cousin to act hateful towards others!" Rose yelled at Tyler. Marie just looked at them with concern.

"Those Hylians took money from our family!" He yelled.

"Only 1 Hylian took money from us!" Rose yelled. "You should never judge a whole group of people for the actions of a single person!"

"THANK YOU!" I said contentedly, raising my hands up in the air in praise (I was happy… ). Rose looked towards me and I continued to speak. "Someone agrees with me!"

Rose sighed. "I'm glad that there's someone else out there that has the same opinion." She smiled.

"Can you help my friend and me?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Of course."

"Don't tell me that you're going to let them stay with us?" Tyler yelled.

"Yes." Rose said. "Until those two have had all the help they need."

"WHY YOU!" Tyler started to yell.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. **

Chapter 6: Staying With the Enemy

Tyler continued to yell and throw a tantrum. (Gee, how mature!) Rose calmly reached into her basket for a moment. "Why? Hylians are nothing but a piece of—" She put a piece of bread in Tyler's mouth.

Marie laughed. "Haha, Tyler!"

"I like the way you think!" I smiled.

Rose looked at me. "What's your name?"

"Midna. So you're Rose, huh? Pretty name."

"Thank you." Rose looked towards her brother, who was surely ready to cuss her out, except for the fact that he still had bread in his mouth. She let out a little chuckle and looked at me again. "Well, Midna. I know one thing for sure…Tyler just needs to shut the heck up!"

"Most men need to shut up!" She and I laughed together.

"Okay! Quit shoving bread into my—" Tyler yelled as Rose shoved another piece into his mouth. He swallowed the bread. "I'm leaving." He walked off.

"I can keep this up all day!" She giggled.

"That's my cousin!" Marie cheered, skipping around in circles...? I looked at Rose with surprise…did Link know this girl? No way; she's too charming.

"Alright." Rose said; her smile fading. "What's wrong with your friend?"

"His legs were crushed by a boulder." I replied. "That's why he's unconscious."

"Well…I can help him…but it depends on how severe his injuries are as to how much he'll recover and how long it'll take." Rose told me. She looked down towards the ground. "If it's too severe, he may never even walk again."

"You seem to know quite a bit about injuries." I said. "How?"

She looked back at me. "I used to help physical therapists as my original job." She replied. "I'd help people recover from various injuries, many just like his."

"Oh." I said. "Impressive." She smiled. I remember it as a very beautiful and genuine smile.

"Can I see him?" She asked me.

"Yeah." I answered.

She walked over and took out a first aid kit out of her knapsack.

"Why do you carry that around?" I asked her.

"To give aid to kids." Rose said.

"What do you mean?" I pondered.

"My current job is being a schoolteacher." She said. "As I'm sure you know, kids play outside a lot, and they get hurt a lot…so I always have this with me on days that I work."

"Oh." I commented.

She looked inside of the first aid kit and took out some medicine. It was like a cream or something.

"What's that?" I questioned her.

"It's a cream that reduces swelling." She started to rub the cream into Link's legs. "There isn't much else I can do here." She looked at him and then looked at me. "I'd like to get some assistance in getting him to our residence, if that's alright with you."

"Yeah." I reacted.

"Are you being a doctor again, cousin?" Marie said with curiosity.

"Yes, Marie…I am." She smiled. She looked at Link, then at me. "He looks…oddly familiar…" She said with wonder. "Except…the person I'm thinking about dressed in green and had a matching hat." She must have not heard her brother's comment to Marie about Link.

"Was his name Link?" I asked her.

"Yeah! It was!" Rose said, her eyes widened and batted twice in surprise. "How did you know?"

"That's his name." I said.

"Oh. I never thought I'd see him again…we knew each other as kids…" She paused and smiled a small smile, like one you'd use when thinking of a pleasant memory. "Anyway…I just don't know how the three of us are going to take him…I'm sure he'll be kind of heavy." She said.

"Yeah…" I said. "Don't worry about that! Watch this!" I lifted him up using my powers.

"Oh, wow…" She said with awe. "…That works!" She then looked a little concerned. "You might draw unwanted attention, though."

"Yeah." I consented with her and lowered Link to the ground.

"Cool!" Marie said happily. "Do it again!" She jumped up and down.

Rose patted her on the head. "You're silly." She looked up at Rose and smirked.

"Okay…I'll help…" Tyler said, coming over with a horse and carriage. "Don't make me regret it, though!"

"Never! Sweet brother of mine!" Rose said with wit.

"Oh, shut up!" Tyler said with infuriation.

"Ah, the beauty of sarcasm!" She and I laughed again as we put Link in the carriage and then boarded it. We headed on our way to the next port, which would take us to the biggest Island of Nikitre, Ravaeende, (Rah-vine-deh) which is where the royal family's residence is. Yes! Success! It was easier than I thought it would have been to investigate the royal family of Nikitre!

After about a 30 minute boat ride we were on Ravaeende. It was a HUGE island! There was a small town there called Poclenicho. (Poh-cleh-nee-choh) We were all on the pier, except for Link, of course, and Tyler, who was by the carriage with him waiting for us.

"Rose…I'm just wondering…why does Nikitre have such weird names for the islands and towns?" I asked her.

"It's because the original inhabitants of Nikitre were Rulerubarus (Roo-leh-roo-bah-roos)." She said.

"Ruler yada whata?" I said with confusion.

Marie laughed and replied hastily, "Rulerubaru!"

"Huh?" I said. I was still confused!

"The Rulerubarus. They spoke their own native tongue and named the islands and towns around here. All Nikitrians, including me and my family, are part Rulerubaru…but we don't speak that native tongue anymore." Rose answered.

"Do you know any of the language besides the names of the islands and towns?" I questioned her.

She shook her head. "It was long before I was born that Nikitrians stopped using it as their main language. We kept the names of the cities and towns because we were so used to those names that it would be silly to change them."

"Yeah…I suppose that would be silly to change them."

"Come on, you three!" Tyler moaned with impatience. "I haven't got all day!"

"Can't you let us ladies talk, brother?" Rose asked. "We were just talking about Sir Phillip!"

Marie and I just stared at her. "I don't remem—" She covered my mouth.

"Play along…it'll be hilarious!" She whispered with delight.

"Okay." I said. "Yes…what a FINE MAN Sir Phillip is!" I laughed. I then whispered to Rose. "And man that sounded fake!"

"SHUT UP, SISTER!" Tyler yelled. "YOU KNOW I HATE HIM! HE GETS EVERYTHING!"

"He does not!" Rose argued, laughing. Marie and I laughed too. "You're richer than him!"

"HE GETS ALL THE WOMEN!" He screamed. "DON'T EVER MENTION HIS NAME AGAIN! EVER!"

"If you didn't act so immature then maybe you'd have luck with the ladies, Tyler!" Rose cackled. He just grunted. That was the end of that!

I snickered and Marie decided to join in the fun. "It's funny when we get Tyler mad!"

"Let's just get going!" He sighed loudly in chagrin. He then pointed to Link. "We've got to get him to someplace where he'll actually feel comfortable."

"Don't rush us." Rose said. "He's fine. He's resting on a mat."

"Don't worry, Rose…" I said. "I get it…to him, women can't have fun!"

"Yeah, Midna…you're right!" Rose laughed. "It infuriates him!"

"Knock it off, you two!" Tyler groaned. We were having a GREAT TIME! When we were done talking, we boarded the carriage. I was hungry, so I grabbed a piece of bread out of Rose's basket.

"Just out of curiosity…will we be going to the royal residence? Or is it not allowed for us common-folk?" I asked Rose. I took my first bite of bread. "This is good!" I swallowed.

"Thanks! Anyway, it's allowed." Rose replied. "The King and Queen are on vacation to England for at least eight weeks. They just left yesterday."

"How do you know all of that?" I asked her, taking another bite.

"I'd better know…" She said to me. "…I'm their daughter after all." My mouth dropped, and so did my bite of bread. I was embarrassed.

"GROSS! That was completely preventable you know, sis." Tyler said. "Maybe you shouldn't have told her."

She just ignored him. "As princess of Nikitre, I allow you and your friend Link to stay at our residence." She said happily.

"Thank you, princess." I said to her.

"You're welcome. You don't have to call me princess. You can just call me Rose like you have been, if you'd like." Rose said.

"Oh, brother!" Tyler grumbled.

"House guests! Yay!" Marie shouted.

We arrived at the Nikitrian Royal Residence, but we had to stay on the street…we couldn't head into the gates of the property yet. Rose began to speak. "If we head in now, we'll be spotted by the guards. My father has demanded that no Hylian be allowed on the property...or in the country for that matter. If I have Marie tell the guards that my brother and I are at a friend's house, they'll just go about their usual duties until 11:00 pm…"

"Why 11?" I questioned her.

"Because that's the end of their shift…they go to bed and rest until four a.m." Rose said. "That'll leave us plenty of time to sneak in."

"Oh." I said.

"Go tell the guards and maids that Tyler is at John's house and that I'm at Isabella's…okay?" Rose asked Marie.

"Kay!" Marie said with joy. She ran in the direction of the gates and headed in.

"I just thought about something…what about the next day?" I asked Rose.

"That's when I'll give them the news." She said. "If I can explain the situation to them before they see you and Link, then you'll have a better chance of staying because they'd be more willing to compromise. If they saw you before I had the time to explain, they'd kick you out. No questions asked."

"Harsh." I said. She nodded in agreement. Rose, Tyler, and I (with Link) waited until 11:00 p.m.

"Maybe we should give them an hour to fall into a deep sleep." Rose suggested.

"Alright." I said. We waited until midnight.

"The maids and guards should all be asleep at this time. This way we can avoid any problems until morning." Rose said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. **

Chapter 7: Will He Finally Awaken?

Tyler grabbed Link and I grabbed my belongings. Rose and Marie helped with my belongings and Link's belongings. We headed in. When I first saw the courtyard, I was awestruck! There were flowers in full bloom and fireflies spread throughout the air. The grounds consisted of grass and cobblestone. We then came up to the main entrance area. There was a fountain with angels on top right in front of us. We walked around it and to the front door.

"You guys are rich." I said with amazement.

"Yeah." Rose said plainly. "It's nice." She took out a key and quietly unlocked the door. We walked in to see everything made of white, cream, and gold-colored marble. "This is the main hall." She whispered. She walked to her left through another door as we followed. "This is the throne room." She said as we looked at an altar with four expensive and fancy-looking chairs in it.

"Can you hurry up, sis?" Tyler complained. "It's hard for a guy to carry a guy!"

Rose laughed. "Alright, brother…can you take him to the guest room please?"

"Okay." He said. He took Link and walked out of the throne room. Later he took a second trip to grab Link's possessions.

She took Marie and I back out into the main hall. We then went to her right into another door. "This is the kitchen." She said. We walked through another door from the kitchen and went into the dining hall. It was HUGE! There were fancy wooden chairs with glass and porcelain tableware on top of a table that matched the chairs. She took us out of the dining hall, then into, and then out of the kitchen into the main hall again. She led us down the hall and into another door. This door led to a huge open space. "This is the ballroom." There was a staircase at the right side of the room and large stained-glass windows. She, Marie, and I went up the staircase and from there we walked to the guest bedroom. Link was in bed, still unconscious.

"Hopefully he'll wake up in the morning." I said.

"Yeah…it could be a problem if he's unconscious too long." Rose replied.

"I wanna touch his ears!" Marie smiled. Rose restricted her by picking her up.

"Jerk!" She whispered with complaint. Rose smiled and put her down.

"Don't do that. Let him sleep." Rose said.

"Fine." Marie obeyed. Tyler came in and bonked Rose on the head.

"Hey!" Rose said angrily.

"Why are you so nice?" He asked her.

"I choose to be." She paused, and then smiled. "BROTHER! Devilish brother!" She giggled.

"Some days I just want to kill you!" He said with exasperation.

"Feeling's mutual." Rose said jokingly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Why you little-" He began to raise his voice. She covered his mouth.

"You have to be quiet, Tyler." Rose said seriously.

"Alright." He complied in a slightly angry, muffled voice. Rose uncovered his mouth.

"Let's go to bed." Rose said. Marie and Tyler went to bed. "There's another guest bedroom that you can sleep in as well, Midna. It's right next to my room if you need anything." She took me to the other guest bedroom. On the way she pointed to a door next to it and said that was her room. "Goodnight." She said, smiling with tired eyes.

"Goodnight." I answered. She walked into her room and shut the door. I walked into mine and shut it. Wow, what a nice room! It was just plain and simple, but it was perfect. The next morning I woke up and got ready. I then went out of the room. Marie was right outside of my room, standing in front of the doorway. I looked at her with slight shock. "Huh?"

"Rose wanted me to tell you this when you got up…she's 'telling the guards the whole story.'" She beamed and saluted me. "Messenger, out!" She ran off making a buzzing noise in order to sound like a trumpet. Typical five-year-old! I went to Link's room. Tyler was walking into there. I floated in after him.

"Well, Midna…he's not up yet." He turned around and looked at me.

"Yeah." I said. We both went out of the room. Rose was in the hallway looking cheerful…that must mean good news!

"I talked to the head guard," Rose said. "And thanks to some bribing, you guys can stay until my parents come home."

"Alright!" I said happily.

"Yes!" Marie cheered.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Rose asked. My stomach growled.

"Yes, please!" I said, chortling. "I'm starving!" We went into the dining hall. There was fresh fruit with eggs, toast, and bacon. "Yum!" I said gladly. We sat down and ate. The guards, maids, and servants had already eaten. It was about 8:00 a.m.

A woman came up to Rose and me.

"Hello Rose." The woman said to Rose.

"Hello, Annie." Rose replied.

Annie looked at me. "You must be Midna."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you." I smiled. She smiled back. Rose faced me. "Annie did an exam on Link's legs last night."

Annie joined the conversation. "Here we can use magic to look inside the body to see the extent of injuries. I told Rose last night that based on the exam; the chances of him walking again are slim to none…" She looked down at the floor. "He may be wheelchair-bound from now on."

"WHAT?" I said with worry while shaking my head. "No! No way!"

"There are at least 30 fractures in his legs. I'm sorry to bring you this troubling news." Annie said.

"It's okay." I said cheerlessly.

"I'm going to put a cold cloth on Link's forehead…it's a little too warm." Annie said to Rose.

"Alright." Rose said.

Annie left the dining hall and went to the ballroom. She went up the staircase, into Link's room, and placed the cold cloth on his forehead.

"…That's cold…" Link said tiredly. Annie screamed. (Speaker's Note: Link tells the story.)

"Ma'am, why are you screaming?" I asked with curiosity. I then got worried. "Please don't scream." Someone ran to the room I was in, but I didn't know who until they came in. It was Midna.

"You're up! Finally!" She said, smiling. "Talk about wanting your beauty sleep…you still look pretty ugly, though…maybe you should sleep longer!"

"Midna!" I said, aggravated. A little girl came into the room, jumped onto my bed, and got on my stomach. "Could you please get off? This isn't very comfortable!" I said with discomfort. She pinched my cheeks. "Ouch! Ouch! Stop!" I yelled.

"I'm Marie! Nice ta meet cha!" She said, grinning. "The swordsman's up! The swordsman's up!" She yelled, still pinching my cheeks.

"Stop it!" I yelled.

"Marie, are you bothering him?" A lady (Rose) said as she walked into the room.

"He's up, Rose." Midna said. I looked at Midna with confusion.

"That's good." Rose said. The woman that screamed walked in. I was soon to learn that her name was Annie.

"Can you open your mouth, please?" Annie said as she took out some medicine.

"Huh?" I said, bewildered. "Why are you taking out that medicine?" I inquired.

"Your forehead is a little too warm." She answered. "It's to help with your fever."

"I hate taking medicine!" I grunted in protest. I slowly turned my head away. She poured out some of the medicine into a spoon.

"Come on! You wanna die or what? You let your fever get too high and you'll die!" I opened my mouth, but with repugnance. She placed the spoon in my mouth.

"Close." She said. I closed my mouth. "Swallow." I swallowed, my face reacting to the bitterness of the concoction.

The lady named Rose smiled at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I said disingenuously, looking around the room. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Nikitrian Castle." She replied.

"The royal residence?" I asked her.

"Yes, that is correct." She said, silence filling the air thereafter. I sighed. "…Do you remember me, Link?" She asked.

I looked at her with perplexity. "What? What do you mean 'remember you?' I've never even met you before in my entire life." She looked surprised.

"Are you sure about that, Link?" Midna asked me. "She told me that she knew you as a child."

"Then she must be insane." I said coldly. "No surprise when it comes to a Nikitrian."

"Excuse me?" Rose said, looking upset.

"Look…" I said plainly. "I don't like Nikitrians…I'm not here to make any friends. I'm here because I have to be."

"Don't you remember, Link?" Rose said with disturbance. "We were…best friends…" Her eyes lowered while looking to the side in sadness. "…don't tell me…the war's made you crazy too, hasn't it?"

"Not crazy…" I said, defiantly staring at her. "Smart…" She looked at me with shock.

"What do you mean?" She said with escalating anger. "Are you saying that I'm a bad person? I haven't done anything to you!"

I paused, and then raised my voice to a yell. "…You Nikitrians are the one's that are at fault!" I couldn't help it; I didn't want to be around any Nikitrians.

"Both sides are at fault! There are two sides to a conflict!" Rose shouted. She walked closer with resentment on her face, shaking her head no. "Don't you DARE tell me that one side is better than the other!"

I lost all control. "I hope that all of you Nikitrians face a terrible and gory death!" I roared. "After all of what you've done to me, my family, and other Hylians! I'd hope for nothing less!"

She clenched her fists and punched me in the left side of my face. She glared at me in detestation. Marie scampered out of the room in fright. Rose then turned away and walked out of the room. Midna looked at me with disappointment. She came over to me, and then punched me in the right side of my face. "Why did you do that, Link!" She grabbed me by the collar and shook me. Both sides of my face were red from where Midna and Rose punched me. "She's a kind lady! I don't even think she'd hurt a fly!"

"You don't understand, Midna…" I said impersonally. "She and all of those other Nikitrians are like children of the devil."

"Don't tell me that I don't understand, Link!" She let go of my collar and calmed down. She pointed at me. "In the entire time that I've known you, you've never been this heartless!" I stayed silent and looked at her with an angry stare. She floated out of the room.

I tried to get up out of bed; but when moving my legs, I felt a surge of unbearable pain.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters.**

Chapter 8: You Can't Take It Back

It was so weird...as if my legs just quit working. I then remembered what happened before I passed out. Are my injuries from that incident really this great? I can't just sit here! I still have things to do! "Just push through the pain." I said to myself. "You've been through worse." I painstakingly attempted to move my legs. With every small movement I felt nothing but soreness. I gritted my teeth in agony. I finally got my legs swung over to the side of the bed. I braced myself to get up and stand. My feet made contact with the floor and I felt an explosion of throbbing. "Push through it." I said again to myself. I tried standing up; but my legs gave in before I could even get halfway off the bed. I fell to the ground, bonking my head exceptionally hard. Midna swiftly drifted to me.

"What happened?" She asked with concern.

"I fell while trying to stand up." I told her.

"You can't stand up…" She said. "Both of your legs are broken…it'll be a miracle if you can even walk again."

Rose walked into the room with a wheelchair. "If you want to know the truth…you will likely be wheelchair-bound from now on."

My mouth dropped in shock. "There's no way…that I'm wheelchair-bound…"

"It's true." Midna said. "You have at least 30 fractures in your legs." My eyes widened in astonishment.

A man named Tyler came in and grabbed the wheelchair. He pushed it over to me. "I'm going to lift you into this thing, okay?"

"I can do it myself!" I yelled. I tried to get up and into the chair, but I collapsed again. "Fine." I said regretfully. Tyler lifted me into the wheelchair with difficulty.

Once I got comfortable, I began to move myself around. Marie walked into the room.

"Rose…" She said.

"Yes, Marie?"

"If Midna wants to, can she and I make a pie together?" She asked.

"Sure." Rose replied.

Marie looked at Midna. "That sounds fun! Alright!" Midna said.

"Yay!" Marie said happily. Midna and Marie left of the room.

Tyler looked at the clock in the room. "CRAP! I have to go!" He said with panic. "Sorry about leaving so quickly, Rose…I have a date with Tiffany in 10 minutes."

"It's okay…I don't need any more help. Thank you." She responded.

He rushed out of the room. Rose began to walk out of the room almost immediately after. "Coward!" I said rudely. "You don't want to try and face me; so you're leaving!"

"Sticks and stones…" She said, and then tried again to walk out of the room. She stopped. "Only those with immaturity and a lack of understanding make fun of others." She left the room. I followed her in my wheelchair out of the room.

"If I am the enemy, then why are you helping me?" I asked her.

She turned around. "…Because…I'm not going to judge you based on what someone of your own kind has done…but mainly because you helped my cousin Marie…"

"That's it?" I said, quizzing her. "So you're just going to put yourself and those you care about at risk with helping me out? Just because I helped that little girl? How do you know that I'm not going to turn around and kill you all once I'm in better health?"

"I would think that you have a better heart than that…maybe I was wrong…" She tried to walk away again.

"And what's with these accusations that I know you?" I yelled. "We've barely met! It's a bunch of bullcrap!" She walked down the hall towards the stairs. "Hey, I'm not done talking to you! Get back here, you spoiled piece of shit!" I tried going after her when a guard came up and put a sword in front of me. Rose kept on walking and descended down the stairs.

"You will not talk to her highness like that!" He said sternly. "That is unacceptable! Plus there is a 5-year-old child here! You keep your sailor talk out of this place! You hear me?"

"Yes sir." I said while staring in Rose's direction. How I detest people like her!

"I don't know why she's helping you!" He said with a fierce look on his face. He sauntered away, not wanting to have anything else to do with me. I went back to my room and had one of the guards lift me into bed.

The rest of that day was fairly uneventful. Rose helped Midna and Marie with the pie and I sat in my room. That evening Midna came up with a slice of pie.

"Want some pie? It's good." She said.

"No." I said.

"Did you eat breakfast?" She asked.

"No."

"Lunch?"

"No."

"Dinner?"

"No."

"Come, on! You've got to eat!" She said.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't want to be poisoned, but you go right ahead. See if I care!"

Rose came into the room with a tray of green beans, chicken, and a baked potato. She laughed. "Like we'd poison you! You sure are stubborn!" She looked at Midna. "So he hasn't eaten, huh? I figured that as much, so I brought this." She put the food in front of me, sort of dropping the tray in front of me. I didn't touch it, and after nary a word whispered of her kind deed, she left the room. My stomach growled.

"HAHA! Now you have to eat!" Midna laughed at me.

"No I don't!" My stomach growled again.

"That's what we had for dinner…it was good; just eat it!" She said with irritation.

"Fine." I tried a bite. It was actually quite tasteful. "Who made this?"

"Rose." Midna answered. I spat it out.

"GROSS!" I said. "The most disgusting food I've ever had!"

"Liar! You're only saying that because you don't like Rose! I could tell because of the look on your face!" She argued.

"I'm not lying!" I yelled. Marie came up to the two of us.

"How are you, mister?" Marie smiled.

"Go away, you brat!" I said cruelly. Marie started to cry. Midna slapped me. I looked at her with extreme anger. "Why'd you do that?"

"You're being mean to that poor little girl!" Midna said with a scolding tone. She patted Marie on the back. "…Pay no attention to him…he has emotional issues…from a lack of decent relationships…" I stared angrily at her. Midna and Marie left the room.

Tyler came back home from his date with Tiffany. He came up to my room to see if I wanted into my wheelchair to "take a walk" before going to bed.

"Sure." I said. Tyler lifted me into my wheelchair and wheeled me out of the room. I looked down the hall as he pushed me. "Isn't this a dead end for me?"

"No." He said, pointing to the other end of the hall that I haven't traveled down. We went that way and came to a ramp that led downstairs. We went down the ramp. He let go of my wheelchair. "I'm sure you can manage on your own, now. Let me know when you're ready to go to bed." He walked off. I wheeled outside, only to find Rose, Marie, and Midna around a pond. It was a magnificent sight that evening, fireflies everywhere. Marie held up a frog and tried to kiss it, but Rose intervened. Sheesh! She likes to ruin all the fun!

"No, Marie…you don't know where it's been." She said.

"Alright." Marie sighed.

"Oh, look!" Midna said sarcastically. "It's Link!"

"Just stop it, Midna." I said unhappily.

"You're the one being a jerk to everyone! Get a grip!" Rose said.

A guard came up to Rose. "A man is here…he claims to know Link. Should I let him in?"

"Let him in." Rose said. A man from Hyrule came into the castle and looked around with awe. He looked anxious to see me, but when he saw me with the casts on my legs he looked concerned.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters.**

Chapter 9: Finally…It's becoming clearer To Me…

The man that came in…was Rusl. He traveled here all by himself. He just stood there in the hall, eyeing me with disbelief. "…Link…what…" Rusl said with deep concern. "…What happened to you?"

"I broke both of my legs…saving this little girl…" I said with sorrow, pointing to Marie. He looked shocked.

"You can pull through, though, right? You'll be back to your old self in no time?" He said with worry.

"May I talk to you alone, sir?" Rose asked Rusl. He nodded. I watched to see where they went. They walked to the throne room. I quietly wheeled over to the doorway of the throne room and eavesdropped.

"Before we begin, what is your name, miss?" Rusl asked.

"Rose." Rose answered. He had a look of terror with that response; he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Why did he make that face? "Sir, did you know that Link knew me?" She questioned.

"…Yes…I'm sorry." He hung his head in shame. My mouth was wide open in surprise.

"What?" Midna said. "Why don't you remember Rose, then?" I covered her mouth.

"Why are you sorry? You don't have to be…" She said with apprehension. "I just wanted to know if you knew that…"

"I'm sorry because…" Rusl began. "When the war began, I was concerned that Link knew any Nikitrians…I thought it would bring him trouble in the future. Since I was his caretaker, I thought it would be in his best interest to not know you." Rose looked at him with mystification. "I talked to some people I knew in town and came up with a solution. It was an amnesia potion infused with magic. Because of that he can't remember you. It's as if you and all of the other people he met here never existed." She looked at him with amazement. Midna and I were astounded.

"I understand why you did that…looking out for his safety…" She looked down at her feet. "But then I don't understand…he was my best friend. To tell you the truth, I honestly hate this war. I just want it to be done and over with. I'd never try to bring harm upon Link."

I wheeled into the room. Midna tried to stop me, but I was too willful…I wanted to not feel so confused. Rose and Rusl looked taken by surprise to see me come in. "I don't get it." I looked towards him. "Why did you feel you had to do that to me?" I wheeled away to my room.

Midna glided into the room. "Rusl, what you did was wrong…you shouldn't have messed with someone's memories." Her eyelids slightly squinted in sadness, followed by a distressing look on her eyebrows. "…even if your intentions were good." She paused. "So…can you help him remember?"

"Yes…" He shuffled over to his horse and grabbed a knapsack. He went through the knapsack until he found a potion in a bottle. He held it up. "That's why I brought this." Rose and Midna looked at it with peculiarity. "It should be able to give him his memories back. I thought about talking to Telma and the doctor about making it when Link said that he was going to Nikitre, because there was a chance that he'd meet Rose and Tyler once again." He paused. "So I did. It has a horrible taste, though, so we need to put it in some milk or something." He smiled. "I realize it now…it is good for him to know you and Tyler…" He looked at Rose. "If he gets along with the two of you, wouldn't you think he'd have a faster recovery because he'd be willing to work with you?"

"I'd imagine so…" Rose said contentedly. She went into the kitchen and poured a glass of milk. Rusl grabbed the glass of milk and mixed the potion into it. He took it up to me and had me drink it. I felt dizzy and sleepy…and soon after feeling these feelings I was completely unconscious. As I lay in bed, fast asleep, I started to dream about all of the memories I had lost and these memories slowly came back to me. I didn't feel like they were missing anymore. Memories like Rose being one of my best friends, and the time when I placed that frog on Tyler's head. I was…confused. Then came the moment my father died. And then the last few moments I shared with Rose and her family. I understood now. Everything was becoming clearer to me. I woke up the next morning and immediately realized the error of my ways. I need to apologize; especially to Rose. She's probably the one that I've hurt the most. With all of the insults I've given her, I'm surprised that she's still willing to help me…from what I know at least. I got ready and had realized that Rusl was gone. He left me a note saying that he was going home and that "his job was finished." A few minutes later Tyler came into the room and asked me if I needed any help. After giving him a nod, he placed me in my wheelchair. "Also, Tyler…" I looked at him. "I'm sorry. We used to be friends…and I was a complete jerk to you and your family."

"It's alright…" Tyler said to me. "We didn't know that you couldn't remember us."

Marie then came up to the room. "Tyler. Is he being mean to you? 'Cause if he is, I'll get Rose or Midna for you."

"He's not being mean to me." Tyler answered.

"Marie." I said.

"Yeah?" She said, not looking impressed.

"I'm sorry…about everything. I was really mean to you and it wasn't right." I said to her.

"Okay!" She said, smiling. She went over and gave me a hug. Easy to forgive, I suppose!

"AHHH!" I said with distress. "You're squeezing too hard!"

"Okay. Sorry." She said apologetically.

"It's alright." I said. She smiled and I smiled back at her.

"Do you need anything else, Link?" Tyler asked me as Marie skipped out of the room with a backpack on, heading to school.

"I'm fine, thank you." I said to him. He left the room. I wheeled out of the room and went to the ramp down the hall. I went down the ramp by myself into the ballroom, then into the kitchen. I spent about fifteen minutes eating breakfast. I then wheeled back out into the ballroom. I saw Annie coming through the room. "Hey, Annie. I have a question for you." I said.

"Yes?" She said.

"Where's Rose?" I asked her.

"Work." She answered.

"Where is her work located?"

"Umm…the schoolhouse. Why?"

"I wanted to apologize to her."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Alright. Just to let you know Midna is there too." I thanked her, wheeled out of the castle and into the courtyard. I spotted a couple of guards and went over to them.

"Excuse me, sirs." One looked at me excitedly, oddly enough. (I'll call him the odd duck for now. :) Meanwhile the other stood up tall, even though he was very short, and tried looking rough and tough as if he was Napoleon. (I'll call him napoleon the 2nd. :) "Where's the schoolhouse?" I questioned the men.

Napoleon II spoke first. He had a very loud and apparent voice, echoing in the morning breeze "TAKE A RIGHT FROM THE GATES TO THE COURTYARD AND HEAD DOWN 5 BLOCKS!"

The odd duck had a very high-pitched voice mixed with a southern drawl…interesting…"Then turn left and head down three more blocks and you'll come to a little building about the size of a house that says 'Ravaeende Elementary.' That's the schoolhouse!"

"Thank you." I said as I wheeled out of the gates, trying not to split my sides. Wow, they were strange! I then turned right and headed down the road. There were all sorts of little shops and houses along the way. There were people everywhere, which would make sense for it was about 10 am. Then, before I knew it my turn came up at the 5th block. I turned left and headed down the remaining three blocks. I came up to Ravaeende Elementary and prepared to knock on the door.

"Now," Rose said to her students. "Does anyone know 10 + 5?" (Note: Rose teaches Kindergarten students.) A couple of kids counted on their hands while others raised their hands. There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get that, Rose." Midna said. She looked through the peephole in the door only to see me. Although she looked a little puzzled, she opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" She asked me, coming out and closing the door behind her. "Rose is in the middle of teaching a class."

"I came to apologize to her…" I said. "I feel really bad about everything that I said. It was hurtful, especially because she was one of my best friends."

"Who are you and what did you do with the Grinch?" She giggled.

"Midna! I'm being serious!"

"Okay, but you could have waited instead of coming here."

"I know."

She looked at me and smiled. "I'll be right back." She opened up the door and went in, then shut it behind her. She hovered over to Rose. "Sorry to interrupt you, but someone's at the door for you."

"Oh, okay. Let's take a break for a minute, everyone." She told the students. She then went to the door and opened it. A look of shock came on her face. She proceeded with stepping outside and shutting the door, all the while looking annoyed. "What do you want?"

"…I'm sorry…" I told her somberly. Her eyes amplified in amazement. "I'm sorry about everything that I said. It was insensitive and I was out of line."

"It's okay." She looked down at the ground. "…I…I'm sorry about punching you."

"Don't be; I deserved it."

"Thank you, really. But you didn't have to come all this way."

"I chose to."

She smiled. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure." I responded. She opened the door and let me in first and went in after me.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 10: The Road to Recovery

Midna and I watched Rose teach her class until noon. Marie, of course, was being taught. Rose dismissed class, and the four of us were then going to head back to the castle…

"Why don't we stop somewhere, first?" Rose suggested. "Marie will like this! Let's go get ice cream!"

"Yay!" Marie yelled with excitement. Midna and I smiled.

"That sounds good!" I said cheerfully. We began to head over to the ice cream shop. My arms were getting a little tired with moving my whole body and the chair with just my hands, but I was alright, I just wasn't used to it.

"Link." Rose said.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Would you like someone to push you?" She queried.

"I'm alright…thank you, though." I said, trying to make her think I wasn't exhausted.

She grabbed the handles and started to push me. "I figured you were tired…so I thought I'd help a little." She said kindly.

I rested my hands in my lap. "Thank you! I was getting tired, but I didn't really want to impose."

"Don't worry about it. It's not imposing if you're asking for help." She grinned.

I nodded. We finally arrived to the ice cream shop and got ice cream. I decided to go with chocolate-flavored, and it was great! When we were finished, we went back to the Nikitrian Royal Residence. Rose, Marie, and Midna all made lunch. It was garlic-flavored pasta with pork. I went to rest in bed while everyone else stayed downstairs. One of the guards helped me out of my chair and into bed. If I have to live the rest of my life like this, I'll be miserable! While I was in bed Rose, Annie, and Midna were talking about the very same thing; will I be able to walk again?

"Would there be any way that Link would be able to walk again?" Midna questioned. "His whole livelihood depends on being able to walk and run."

"Well…he'd probably have to go through physical therapy." Annie said.

"Rose was saying that she worked with physical therapists…" Midna said. She looked at Rose. "Do you know any physical therapy?"

"Yeah…I do."

"Would you be willing to try and get Link to walk again?" Midna inquired. "That is, in hopes that he'll defy the odds?"

"Sure…I'm not kidding you, though…it's going to be hard for him. He's going to have to slowly get used to using his legs again, which will be painful. "

"Yeah." Midna said with a sigh.

"We'll have to start as soon as possible." Rose said, looking at Midna and looking slightly more hopeful.

"Heck, we have nothing else to do. Can you start tomorrow?" Midna asked.

"You bet I can!" Rose replied pleasantly.

Nothing else really happened that day. I had no idea at the time of what was to happen next! The next morning, a Saturday, Tyler woke me up and told me that there was something important to do today, so I got ready, and then I was prepared to have him place me in my wheelchair. He came in and placed me in my wheelchair. He pushed me into the kitchen and I ate breakfast. When I was finished, he wheeled me into the throne room. There was a couch in there. He picked me up and sat me on the couch.

"Listen, up. In order for you to be able to walk or run again, you're going to need physical therapy." Tyler instructed.

"Alright." I said with determination. "I'm prepared for anything."

He smirked at my remark. "I think he's ready." Tyler said; looking towards the doorway we entered. Rose walked in with a first aid kit. I was utterly bewildered.

"Why is she here?" I asked Tyler.

"She's going to be your physical therapist." I stared at him, stunned.

"What?" I said, still stunned.

"It's convenient to have her be your physical therapist because she lives here; rather than having someone from town or someplace else be your physical therapist." Tyler said.

I looked at Rose. "Do you know any physical therapy?" She nodded. "Oh." She moved my wheelchair out of the way.

"Good luck." Tyler winked; heading out of the room.

"Okay." Rose said. "I'm going to start by asking you to wiggle your toes." I wiggled my toes. "Does it hurt?" She asked.

"No." I said.

"Okay. Try moving your ankles side to side." She instructed.

I tried to move my ankles side to side, but I felt instant pain. "Oh, sh—" I stopped myself from finishing the word, gritting my teeth.

"I'm guessing that hurt." Rose said.

"Yeah."

"Try moving your ankles really slowly, now. You're going to feel pain, but do your best, because you'll feel pain no matter what you do."

"Ok." I responded. I moved them really slowly. I still felt pain, but doing it slowly helped.

"Now move your ankles so that your toes point to the ceiling, and then to the wall in front of you." I did that, still feeling pain. After two minutes of that came the hardest part. "Try to lift one leg up just a tiny bit, keeping you leg straight." She told me. I looked at my legs in fear. "Don't rush yourself; it'll only hurt more if you do."

I lifted one up a little bit, instantaneously wincing in pain. "Oh, crap! Ow!" I yelled. She grabbed a large ice pack and placed it on my leg.

"Try it again when you feel ready." She said with a smile. "You're doing well." Midna was behind one of the columns watching.

"Look, Link…" Midna said, coming out from behind. "I know it hurts, but you've got to do it! If you don't, you'll be unable to walk!"

I nodded. "I'm ready to try again." I said to Rose. She took off the ice pack and I lifted my leg a little bit, but kept it up for a whole minute. Then I forced it down and yelled in unbearable pain.

Rose took out some pain medicine and poured it onto a spoon. "Open your mouth, please." I opened my mouth. She placed the spoon in. I closed my mouth and she pulled the spoon out. I then swallowed, still hating the bitterness of the medicine. She then took out a tube. This should help you, too." I hesitated as she unscrewed the cap.

"It's medicine, Link. You'll be okay, it won't hurt." Midna said. "She's going to put medicine on the leg you tried lifting earlier." I stopped hesitating and looked at her with befuddlement as she squeezed some of the contents of the tube onto my leg and started to rub it in. I went red in the face…I didn't know why, I just did.

"This should ease some of the pain." She said to me.

"Thank you." I said to her. "That's really nice of you."

She smiled at me. "You did a good job! That had to have caused you a great deal of agony."

"Yeah, it did." I said. I smiled back at her with relief.

"Well, you're done for the day…now you know; that's what physical therapy is going to be like…" She said.

"I understand." I said.

"It'll be worth it, though." She said, smiling a half smile.

"Yeah." I said with content.

The rest of the day was alright. I rested until lunch. One of the guards put me in my chair and I went down to eat lunch with everyone. One problem, there were chairs at every spot. I needed to have a spot that I could get to that didn't have a chair in the way.

Rose moved one of the chairs that were next to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks." I rolled up to the spot next to her and we all ate.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

**Thanks for continuing to read! Where we left off, Link was starting physical therapy in hopes to walk again. Enjoy chapter 11! :DD**

Chapter 11: Embarrassing!

The next few days nothing really happened. In fact, nothing really happened that whole week. Nothing even happened in the next four weeks. I just went on with physical therapy and was making good progress. I thought to myself when the four week point came up…wow…halfway through. At this point I was able to stand. Man, though! That was hard to do! I remember what Rose did to help me do that. She'd stand up and have my arm around her shoulder. I'd try to make my legs meet with the floor; her being a crutch. Eventually I could stand on my own, but not for very long.

The next week nothing embarrassing happened, but something really good happened. One day Rose said that she thought I should try to walk. I panicked.

"I…I don't think I'm ready…am I?" I asked her.

She nodded. "You've done really well." She had me put my arm around her. She stood me up and I made my feet meet with the floor. "Ok…now move your legs…slowly." I limped, but I could do it really slowly…like snail speed! I was starting to walk. My face lit up, and so did hers. "Good job!" She helped me walk across the room to a chair and she sat me down. "Let me know if you want to try walking again."

"Yes." I said. "I don't want to waste time…I need to try to walk as soon as possible."

"Okay." She said. She came over to the chair and I put my arm around her. This time we walked down the hall. I was in pain, but I kept on going. Midna came out and smiled to see me walking, even though it was with Rose as a crutch. After three or four days of that, Rose thought that I was ready to do it a little more on my own. She was still there when I tried to walk.

That first day I tried walking more on my own was when that embarrassing moment came...Rose had me put my arm around her and she stood me up. "Now stand on your own." She said. I did just that, able to do it for a little while longer than before…I could probably stand for a couple of minutes before it got really uncomfortable and painful. She held my hands and I went red. "Now try to walk…I'll be here to catch you if you fall." She said. I tried to walk, and it worked. Soon I didn't even need to look at my feet. "I'm going to let go, now. Let me know if your legs give out." I nodded. She let go and I was able to walk. She was right in front of me, smiling and walking backward as I walked forward. And then came that embarrassing moment…I lost my footing when we were out in the hall. I tripped and fell towards her, almost knocking her over. To make matters worse, we thumped heads. "Ow." She said as she regained balance. "That wasn't planned…" She asked.

"Yeah, not really." I said, blushing. She had me put my arm around her again and she took me back to my room.

By the next week I was able to walk the distance of the hallway by myself. By the week after that, I was able to walk around the entire castle. That next week was when the real milestone came; I walked a whole mile, by myself! The last week I was there I tried running. I fell down a couple of times, but Rose and Midna were there to help, and so was Tyler. By the end of that week, I was completely better; able to walk and run.

We had a little party to celebrate on the day before Midna and I planned to leave. Rose, Marie, and Midna made cake. Tyler and I made some meat and vegetables. (Yes; contrary to what Midna may try to tell you, I can cook!) I had once again become great friends with Rose, Marie, and Tyler, and everyone else there. I was really thankful for their help and kindness. But I felt bad…I was going to leave again. Hopefully I won't forget Rose and Tyler this time. It was fun…the majority of the past two months with them.

Rose came up to Midna and me during the party. "I have something for you and Midna." She gleamed.

"Alright." I said.

"Okay." Midna answered. Rose reached into a large knapsack. She took out a sphere.

"With this, you can use magic to communicate with others." She said. "It's simply called a 'communication orb.'" She handed it to me. She pointed to a spot on the orb and said to press down on it with my finger. I did that and it turned on. It began to glow. She took out another one as Midna and I stared at the one I had in my hands in awe. "I have one, too. We can all talk to each other, no matter how far away we are." We all smiled.

"That'll be good!" I said with exultation.

Marie came up to us. "Link…you're going home tomorrow?" She asked.

I nodded with assent. "I have to go…otherwise your aunt and uncle will find out I was here…which won't be good."

"Right." Marie said. "But we can still visit each other, right?"

"Only when there is peace." I told her.

"What? That's not true! We can still visit each other!" She pouted.

Rose joined in. "I think that's a great idea, Marie. But Link's right…there needs to be peace first." Nothing really happened the rest of that day. We celebrated that I could walk and enjoyed the last few moments that we could spend together. At least the last moments we could spend together until the war ends; if it ever does.

That night I couldn't sleep. I got up and dressed in my everyday clothes, left my room, and headed down the hall. My intentions were to go over to a balcony on the second floor and look up at the stars. I remember one of the nights that I couldn't sleep when I was here with my father. He and I walked to the end of the hall and onto that same balcony. It was at least midnight that night. I think it was actually the first night we stayed at the castle. He and I would point at the stars and marvel at the different shapes they'd form when strung together. It always made me smile to look up at the stars. Nowadays whenever I look up at them, and they twinkle, I'd swear to myself that my mother and father were making them twinkle…to shine some light into my life. I walked out there and watched them glitter; smiling and looking down into the courtyard, and listening to the water running from the fountain.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" A voice asked me. I looked behind me. It was Rose. Not just Rose, but Marie as well, who was following Rose in secret, and the only one of the three of us in P.J's. Rose noticed that Marie was following her. "You're up too, Marie?"

"Yeah. Why are you up?" Marie questioned. "Can I join you?"

"Sure." Rose said. "I was going to get a drink of water, but I saw Link out here…" Marie nodded. Rose looked towards me. "I was just wondering if there was anything wrong…are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said. "Just looking outside."

"Good." She said with a small smile on her face. She went downstairs and Marie continued to follow her. I just continued to stand at the end of the balcony to take in the view. Rose and Marie joined me at the end of the balcony. There was only one problem. As soon as Marie stepped outside, she didn't stop talking! And it was about the most random things!

"Your favorite color's green, right?" Marie asked me.

"No…" I said.

"But you wear a lot of green!" Marie grunted in protest. I rolled my eyes, but made it discreet in front of Marie.

"Let's switch subjects." Rose said, seeing that I looked annoyed.

"Thank you." I mumbled under my breath.

Marie still, however, wouldn't stop. "Let's sing a song!" She said loudly.

"How about not?" I said, hoping she wouldn't sing.

She then started to sing, and it sounded like a cat dying! "Blah blah blah blah blah! Blah! BLAH! Bl—"

Rose covered her mouth. "Why don't you go to your room, Marie?" She asked her.

"Okay!" She said happily. She turned around to leave. Rose and I laughed as she skipped merrily to her room.

Rose then looked at me. "I wanted to talk to you and Midna about something…but since she's not up, I'll talk to her in the morning…" She looked at me for assurance to continue.

I nodded. "What do you want to talk about?"

She looked down into the courtyard. "It's about the war…" She sighed. I looked at her with bamboozlement. She looked at me. "I'm honestly sick and tired of this conflict that Hyrule and Nikitre have. I want it to be over." She paused and looked in front of her, but still addressing me. "Do you want it to be over?"

"Yeah, I do." I said poignantly. "Very much so…" I looked down. There was silence, and I thought back to when my father died. "I used to be so hateful towards Nikitrians…after all, a Nikitrian killed my father. But I need to put the past behind me. Not that I'd ever forget what happened to him…" She and I looked at each other. "You, Tyler, Marie, and everyone else here have been some wonderful friends to me. And you just so happen to be Nikitrian. After these two months that I've spent with you, never again would I wish for any harm on you." She smiled and I smiled back.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 12: The Idea

Rose looked up to the sky. "I had this idea…since the war causes nothing but death and pain, why not actually do something to end it?"

"Yeah, I agree. But what exactly could be done?" I asked her.

"There are two sides to any conflict, right?" She looked at me. I nodded. "Then why not start a third side that tries to stop Hyrule and Nikitre from fighting? Perhaps a rebellion?"

"I like how you think!" I thought about it for a moment, and then reality hit me. I realized that maybe it wasn't the best thing to do. Rose noticed my sudden frown and asked what it was about. "I believe that's a great idea; don't get me wrong." I said. "But I don't think that a lot of people are going to like it."

"Maybe…it's worth a try, though." She said seriously. "Doing that would be better than allowing more people to die unnecessarily."

"Yeah." I said. I turned to her. I then held out my hand and smiled. "Alright. I'm in! This war needs to end…it's been going on for a decade now."

"Definitely." She said, shaking my hand and smiling, too. She let go and paused. An expression of worry became perceptible on her face. "My father won't approve of this…and I doubt the King of Hyrule will approve, either."

"You have a point." I added; my smile departing.

"It'll have to be a secret, then." She said. "For there's risk in revolting against any monarch."

The next morning was the day we planned to leave. The King and Queen were scheduled to be back in Nikitre in the evening…so that gave Midna and I time to prepare in the morning and leave in the afternoon. Rose talked to Midna about the rebellion and Midna wanted to be a part of it, too. We had a nice big breakfast of fruit, biscuits and gravy, muffins, ham, and waffles. I didn't eat all of that, but that's what was available! We sat at the table, laughing and joking like we've known each other for years. It was nice. When we were finished, Midna and I finished packing. It was about 11:00 am and we planned to leave at 1:00 pm. Then came 12:50 pm…in ten minutes we had to be leaving. Midna said all of her goodbyes, but I didn't. I went over to say goodbye to Marie.

"I'll miss you, Link!" Marie hugged me tightly. "We're best buddies, got it?"

"Got it!" I said, feeling constricted by the hug. "Please, let go! You're choking me!"

"Alrighty, Link!" Marie said happily, letting go. Suddenly she started to cry, sniveling loudly.

I put my hand on her head. "Don't cry…you don't need to..." I gleamed. "We'll see each other again." Marie smiled a little. I went over to Rose and held out my hand. "Goodbye…" She didn't shake hands…I was confused. She then hugged me. I went pink.

"I hug whenever I say goodbye…that's how my family is!" She smiled. I smiled back. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She said. "Would you still like to trade addresses?"

"Sure." I said.

"Alright…That way you, Midna, and I can stay in touch with that and the communication orbs!" She said happily. "You know, I would still love to visit Hyrule someday." She laughed.

"I hope you can." I said acquiescently.

Her look of tenderness turned into a more serious expression. "I'll be sure to get some other people to join the rebellion."

"I will be sure to do that, too." I told her. When we finished trading addresses, I finished loading my things and mounted Epona. I turned Epona around to face everyone. "Don't break your legs again, got it?" Rose said. "Or we'll all have to kill you!" She said jokingly.

"I won't!" I exclaimed. Midna and I waved good-bye to everyone and then we left.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 13: Caught!

Midna and I successfully left the Nikitrian castle. I had been wearing my regular green clothes while staying in the castle, but now I was once again wearing jeans and a t-shirt to stay undercover. It had managed to work with everyone around the streets. No one on the street really knew I was Hylian. Then again, not a lot of Hylians have visited, and I haven't been out and about a lot…when I was, I took extra precautions. When we went to board the boat from Nikitre to Termina, however, someone did notice!

When we arrived at the dock there was a fancy horse and carriage that came off the boat that just arrived. It wasn't our boat. The boat that just arrived came from somewhere else…where exactly? England…the horse and carriage stopped and did not allow us to go through. A man with black hair, a sword and shield, and a crown came out of the carriage…It was the King of Nikitre! He came up to us. Anger was very apparent on his face. He looked at me from head to toe.

"May I pass please, sir?" I said cautiously.

He drew out his sword. "What are you doing here, Hylian? It is illegal for a Hylian to be on Nikitrian soil. It is a crime that is punishable by hanging."

"I'm not Hylian!" I said nervously. "I only look Hylian. Looks are deceiving!"

"You can't trick me!" He bellowed.

I sighed. "I apologize, sir." I said. I then lied to him for I obviously can't tell him of my mission; despite the fact that I knew him when I was little. "I didn't know where I was. I will leave immediately. Now, if I can pass, I'll be on my way."

"Shackle him." Harold said, looking towards the carriage. Two guards came out, took my sword and shield after beating me up, and restrained me; although I tried resisting. They placed me in hand and leg shackles, then threw me into the carriage. Another guard took Epona. Midna was captured by a fourth guard.

"Please let me go! I have a boat to catch! There are people back home that worry about me!" I said desperately. "I'm sorry!"

"You should have thought about that before breaking the law." Harold said cruelly.

I looked to see Carol sitting across from me. "Can't you knock some sense into him?" She didn't say a word. "Don't you remember who I am?" Still no response from her. This didn't look too good for me. Midna and I were taken back to the castle. Evidently we weren't as welcomed this time, because we were dragged to a dungeon underground. Epona was taken to some stables at a farm nearby. The dungeon was gloomy and filled with dreadful corpses and skeletons. Of all the ten cells that were down there…although all but two were filled, (ironically) only 1 cell still had a living prisoner. But even he was desperately clinging onto life; just skin and bones. Compared to the castle where all inhabitants live in the lap of luxury, this place was a sad and desolate waste of space. And the odor was absolutely grotesque! The guards threw me into one of the cells and Midna into the other one. As soon as they were gone, Midna and I began to talk. "So, what are we going to do now?" I said.

"Heck if I know." She replied.

"I really don't want to die here…I'm not saying that it's a sure thing…but things aren't looking good for us." I said depressingly. "I just want to get out."

"You'll never get out…" the man in the other cell said with a rasp in his voice. "I have been here for at least two weeks. I was arrested for the murder of a floral shop owner." He smiled maliciously. "She deserved it! She charged me too many rupees!"

"You don't have the right to kill a person for a dumb reason like that!" I said crisply.

"To HELL with people like that!" He screeched. "I say to hell with all of those rich snobs that don't care one smidgen about others!" I looked at him with infuriation. "To hell with the royal family, especially! They are so focused on nothing but themselves! Never protecting the weak and poor, although they should be! They couldn't last one day as us, huh boy? I'll kill all of them off and send them to hell!"

"Listen, you!" I yelled with rage. "Don't you ever lie a finger on that family, got it? Or I'll send you to hell!" Midna looked at me.

"You're a goody two-shoes, aren't you?" He asked me.

"Yes and I'm proud of it! You can say whatever you want about me; I don't care!" I pointed my finger at him. "But you'd better listen to me when I say this! I protect people! And that is a deed that massively surpasses yours! Three people in that family are some of my best friends! I won't allow you to harm them!"

"Then why are you here if they are such good friends to you?" He pondered.

"One of them, whom I don't get along with, arrested me because I'm…let's just say not Nikitrian." I replied.

"You're Hylian?"

"Yes."

"That's what I thought! You deserve death!"

I glared at him.

"Don't fight with him. It's not worth it." Midna said.

"Fine." I said. "I'm just…frustrated…"

"Have you forgotten?" Midna questioned me. "Your orb! You can call Rose! She'll get us out of this!"

"Oh, right!" I said. I grabbed my orb out of my knapsack. Good thing no one took my knapsack!

"That girl in the other cell…is she your girlfriend or something?" The man inquired me.

"No." I said.

"Oh, God no!" Midna shouted.

"What about this 'Rose?' Is she your girlfriend?"

"No." I said, growing increasingly frustrated. I looked at him at the wrong time for my temper, because he had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"I bet you one of them is…must be that Rose girl…because this lady doesn't seem to like you!" He pointed to Midna. She stared at him madly.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted. I turned on the orb and plugged in her address. Luckily I was able to get a hold of her.

"Hi, Link!" Rose said, sounding happy. She lowered her voice. "Did you guys make it out okay?"

"No." I said. "We ran into your parents…and have been jailed."

"Oh." She said sadly. "I'm really sorry about that. I'll get you out as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Rose." I said thankfully.

"You bet. I'll have to wait until at least midnight to come and get you and Midna, though."

"That's fine." I told her. So it was settled. I hung up with her.

"I knew it!" He snickered. "You and Rose sitting in a tree…"

"Shut the hell up!" I shouted.

"Fine!" It was silent, thankfully. I slept for a while and woke up to more silence. I looked over to the cell of the other man. He was lying on the ground; as motionless as a fallen feather without any wind to take flight. "Are you alright, sir?" No answer. I took another good look at him and realized that he wasn't breathing.

"He's dead?" Midna asked me.

"Yeah." I said solemnly, looking at the man. "I know he wasn't a kind man, but I hate watching people die…"

"That's why we need a rebellion!" Midna said imperatively.

"You're right." I said. "The deaths need to stop."

Midnight finally rolled around, which gave me a feeling of reprieve. Rose came down with a lantern and a set of keys. She very quietly unlocked our cells. "I hate coming down here." Rose said with disgust as she looked at the corpses around us. Midna and I stepped out of our cells, happy to be free. Rose helped us sneak out and catch a late-night ship to Termina. As soon as the ship set sail we were finally on our way home.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

**Where we last left off, Link and Midna had escaped prison in Nikitre and made it home safely. What's going to happen with the war?**

Chapter 14: Times Are Changing

(Narrator's note: What happened?) Well for three years, Rose and Link tried their best to put together a rebellion in their countries. Rose, Midna, and Link stayed in contact with one another…and kept their friendship strong. Harold did figure out that Link and Midna escaped, and how they escaped…so he wasn't happy with his daughter. Nonetheless, since Link and Midna were already gone there wasn't anything he could do. Harold soon found out about the rebellion that his daughter set up in Nikitre. This angered him.

(Speaker's note: Rose tells the story) My father looked at me with exasperation. "Why, Rose? Why did you do this? Why did you betray your people!"

I looked at him, determined to speak my mind for once in my life. "I'm tired of the fighting, father! I'm tired of innocent people dying! And for unwarranted reasons! If you would just look at what has been done, I have at least 50% of Nikitre on my side! I don't want to feel like I have to hate anymore!" Tears cascaded down my cheeks. "Please, stop the madness!" He looked at me with heartbreak, and I looked at him sternly. "I allowed Link and Midna to leave safely because they are my friends! They'd do anything for me! And I'd do anything for them!" I shut my eyes, and then only opened them slightly; my sight blurring from my tears. "I miss the peace that we had when I was little. I know life is more complicated now, but why do we have to make it more complicated?"

He looked inspired. He looked straight on at me, grimness in his eyes. "It has gone on long enough. I became selfish…I let my frustration for that man that took money from us consume me. I assumed that all Hylians were like that…which isn't true. I still remember when Link and his father came to visit. That was a happy time."

"We only live for so long." I said staidly. "Why not make life joyous?"

The next Monarchy Meeting that was held between the rulers of the world, a week later, was when my father and the King of Hyrule made up. I attended the meeting. The King of Hyrule had said that someone led a rebellion in his country as well, and that this person inspired him to attempt to end the war.

I addressed the Hylian King. "The man that led the rebellion in your country…was his name Link?"

He looked at me with surprise. "Yes…his name is Link. How did you know his name?"

"He's a friend of mine." I answered with a small smile.

"That's nice." He said. "He's a good man."

"Yeah…" I said.

The King of Nikitre and the King of Hyrule signed a peace treaty, and from that day on, the war was over. The King of Hyrule then headed home. I tried to communicate with Link and Midna on my orb to tell them the good news. Link answered. "Hey, Rose."

Midna answered as well. "Hey there, Rose!" She must have not returned to the Twilight Realm yet.

"Hi, you two! I have good news!" I said excitedly. "The peace treaty's been signed! It's finally over!"

"Good!" Link said happily.

"Yes!" Midna cheered.

"I thought that I'd just tell you the good news!" I said gladly. We talked for a while about a lot of things…like what's been happening lately and what is going to happen. It was in the evening when it came to an end.

"I have to get going." Link said. "I have to help herd some goats and feed them."

"He doesn't have much of a life!" Midna said while laughing.

"Hey! I heard that!" Link yelled. I laughed while they got into a verbal argument. The three of us said goodbye and the call ended. It was definitely a happy thing…to have the war be over. I can't wait to visit them! I should take Marie when I go!

A couple of weeks later when I went to bed, I was content. But then I thought to myself. There's only 1 issue that is really bothering me now. My father often sets me up on blind dates with men. Not just normal men…normal men 'wouldn't be good enough for his daughter.' It's always a snobby, jerk faced prince or duke! I'm tired of it! Since the end of the war, it has become much more prevalent. Whenever a date doesn't go well or something in that nature occurs, my father will always say, 'that's typical in trying to find that perfect soul mate.' Honestly, you'd think I could do this by myself; I believe that too! But my father won't allow me to do that! Sometimes I want to wring his neck!

For example, I had a date with a man from France earlier today. He was the 'Duke of France.' He was a charming man at first! He gave me flowers and chocolate. He even was nice enough to complement me on my dress. I thought that this date would actually go well for once! But no! As soon as we sat down for lunch, he started to talk about 'the hunt!' You know how boring 'the hunt' is? Well I got annoyed with 'the hunt' after he talked nonstop about it for an hour! He wouldn't let me get a single word in! And when the waitress asked us if we were ready to order, he was still talking! So because of that, I didn't get anything to eat! He also talked about how fabulous he is and how fabulous his life is! I finally said these exact words at the end of the date! "I don't give a flying rat's a** about how fabulous you or 'the hunt' is! I'm leaving!" I ate some meat, and then at least two cinnamon rolls when I got home! I'm not even going to talk about any of the other numerous 'duds' for dates!

The next day I woke up and went out shopping with some friends. When I came home Marie came up to me. Being eight now, she's matured a little. "How was your time with your friends?"

"It was fun." I said to her.

"Good!" She smiled.

"Say, Marie?" I said.

"Yeah, Rose?"

"What do you think about going to Hyrule in a couple of days?" I inquired.

"I think that sounds like a great idea!" She said, jumping up and down. "That way we can see Link and Midna again!"

"Yeah!" I said. "I thought that would be fun to do!"

"We'll have to convince Tyler to come with us!" Marie giggled.

I laughed. "That's sounds like a plan! We have to clear this with Uncle Harold and Aunt Carol though, okay?"

"Okay." Marie said. Marie and I headed to see my father. He was sitting on his throne, looking bored.

"Hi, father. Would it be alright if Tyler, Marie, and I went to Hyrule?" I asked him.

"Okay." He said. "I don't see any harm in that."

I looked towards my mom. "Sure!" She smiled.

"Thanks dad! Thanks mom!" I said merrily, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek.

"I don't think that Tyler will be going with you, though." My father interrupted the glee.

"Why not?"

"You know Abigail?" My mom asked me. "The princess of Sorenol that he's been dating for a year?"

"Yeah?"

"He plans to propose to her. He told your father and me this morning while you were out."

"Oh! That's great news!" I said while smiling.

Just then Tyler ran into the throne room. "She said yes! She said yes!" He shouted excitedly. "We would like to be married as soon as possible!" Everyone was consumed with joy and excitement.

I turned to Marie. "I don't think we should go to Hyrule until after Tyler's wedding…okay?"

"Fine." Marie crossed her arms at her chest.

"Don't be like that!" I said to her. "This is a happy occasion!"

"Okay…" She said while whining. Like I said, I think she's only matured a little.

After my parents spoke with Tyler and Abigail, they finally decided on a day. "So it's decided! Tyler and Abigail will be married in a week and a half!" Harold announced.

I went up to Tyler. "Would you like Link and Midna to come?"

He nodded. "Definitely!"

I called Link and Midna that night and told them that Tyler is getting married and that they were invited.

"I think that would be fun!" Link said.

"I do, too!" Midna gleamed. They told me that they'd head over here tomorrow after Link fed and herded the goats. I was really excited! I haven't seen them in three years!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 15: The Pre-Marriage Calamity

(Speaker's note: Link tells the story!) A week later Midna and I arrived in Nikitre. Rose and Marie gave the two of us hugs when we got off the boat. Tyler gave me a hug, too…which was weird. I guess he was just really anxious. Everyone else was, too.

That night, however, something horrendous happened. We were all asleep, except for Harold. He was up getting a muffin. (Midnight snacks?) I woke with a jolt when I heard screaming…not from Harold, who was still downstairs, but from his bedroom. I put on a robe and ran out of my room. Rose, Marie, Tyler, Midna, the guards, and the maids did the same thing. Harold hustled up the stairs shortly behind us. There wasn't anyone else in the room except for Carol, who had been stabbed. It was Carol who screamed, and now lay motionless in bed. My eyes widened in fright, Marie cried and ran off, Rose screamed, Tyler shouted in terror, and Harold ran in and cried. Midna and I, and everyone else just stood there in shock. Carol was stabbed in the neck; a pool of blood forming on the bed. She passed away that night.

The next day was one of the worst days of my life. They held Carol's funeral today…it wasn't scheduled until this afternoon. That morning no one was the same. Rose was especially not the same. She barely said a word to anyone. I hadn't talked to her yet, and I thought it would be a good thing to try and cheer her up.

She was outside all alone, so I walked outside and over to her. "Are you okay, Rose?" I voiced to her with worry. She wouldn't look at me; she just remained looking in the other direction, not uttering a word. "Rose? I'd like to help…" Still nothing. "Rose?" She shook her head and ran away from me.

Marie came up from behind me. "She's sad, Link…"

"I know." I said gloomily.

"I even tried talking to her…she doesn't want to talk to anybody." She started to cry.

"Don't cry, Marie." I said to her. "She'll cheer up…I hope…"

"She'll be feeling better soon…" Midna said, floating over. "Just give her some time to mourn."

It was stormy out, and there was no noise except for the wind, moaning as if trying to reflect the bitter feelings we all shared. There was silence between all of us...so I took some time to reflect in my mind. "…I was just like that." I said.

"Huh?" Midna and Marie said at the same time.

"Back when my father died…I used to be just like that…" I lowered my eyes in sorrow. "I didn't want people to see me cry…I was ashamed of it."

"I don't think she's really reluctant to allow people to see her cry like you were, Link…I think she just needs to be alone." Midna said. "Girls are different from boys…we women aren't afraid to cry…trust me."

An hour or two later I tried to go up to Rose again when I saw her by the fountain in the courtyard. As soon as I called out her name, she stood up and walked away. No use for that, I guess…

That afternoon everyone was getting ready for the funeral. (Speaker's note: Arthur the Palace guard tells the story.) Rose and her family are very upset with their loss of Queen Carol. I wish them all relief from this sad occasion. I was patrolling in the halls when I saw Rose in the room where we keep our weapons. Sometimes during royal funerals, a person will salute the deceased with the raising of a sword or dagger…other times people will place a sword or dagger under a thick ribbon that's wrapped around the casket. Rose grabbed a dagger. "She must be using that to honor her mother." I thought to myself. She placed it in her knapsack. I see, keeping it close to her until it's time to raise the weapons in salute! I wanted to make sure the Princess was alright, for she wasn't talking much. I went up to her.

"Are you alright, your highness?" I asked her.

Tears were falling from her cheeks. "I'm not okay…definitely sad…"

"That's only natural…I am sorry for your loss." I said sadly.

"Thank you." Rose said. "Are you patrolling?"

"Yes." I told her.

"That's good." She said.

"I assume you're using that dagger to honor you mother?" Arthur asked. She nodded. "Good. I'm sure she'll appreciate that."

"I'm sure she will." Rose said. (Speaker's Note: Link tells the story again…) I sat next to Midna when the funeral began. It took place outside. Harold, Tyler, and a few other individuals spoke on behalf of Carol. Rose then went up to speak for her mom. She took out a piece of paper. "This is a letter that my mom wrote to me. She wrote it on my 12th birthday. I was crying that day because the day before my dog Sayun had died. Everyone was worried about me…and my mom wrote this in hopes to cheer me up." She began reading it aloud:

Dear Rose,

You were truly a blessing when you came into the world. Your bright blue eyes always sparkled as I held you in my arms. As the years have gone by, I've thought to myself…how will you get through life? Indeed you're a strong girl, but life will sometimes try to take you down and make you give up. Don't give in. Remember those that love and care about you; they'll help you through any hurtle…

Rose's voice started breaking, so she paused, grabbed out a handkerchief from her pocket, and sniffled while wiping her tears that were falling from her cheeks. She then continued with reading the letter:

…There are happy times in life and times that are sad. I hope that you think more of the happy times, for they'll give you the strength to keep trying; even if you fail from time to time. But most of all, they'll make you smile. Those delightful memories will help ease some of the pain you'll inevitably feel in life. Happy birthday, my sweet baby girl. May every single one be happy.

Love, Mom.

She walked over to her mother's casket and kissed her.

"I wish I could do something, Midna…" I said quietly. "It pains me to see everyone so sad."

"Me, too." Midna replied with a hushed tone. Rose sat down with her brother. A few more people spoke for Carol. Then everyone stood up to salute and honor Carol, with or without weapons.

At this point, I looked over to where Rose and Tyler were sitting. Tyler was there, but Rose wasn't…I wonder why? Maybe she just needed to take another walk. I figured I wouldn't bother her this time. She needs time to herself. When we were done saluting Carol and sat down again, worrisome thoughts raced through my head. I'm sure she's fine, but I just wanted to know where she was; that would put my mind at ease. I went over to Arthur to see if he saw where Rose went. "Did you see where Rose went, Arthur?"

"No." He replied. "But wasn't she sitting with her brother?"

"Yes, but now she's gone." I said.

There was concern on his face. "Did she salute her mother with a weapon? I didn't see…"

"I looked over to see her when we saluted, but she was already gone." I said.

His look of concern worsened…I could see fear in his eyes. "I know you're good friends with Rose…which is why I need to pull you aside." I looked at him with misunderstanding. When he and I were alone, he pressed on with speaking. "I didn't want to scare anyone…but I saw Rose grab a dagger earlier from the weapons room. I assumed she would salute her mother." My eyes enlarged in alarm. "I know this is probably silly of me to think…" Arthur said. "But could her remorse make her...commit suicide?"

"I have to go." I said. He nodded in acquiesce. I ran frantically to Tyler. "Where's Rose?"

"She said she was going to take a walk to the beach…she does that a lot when she needs to clear her mind." He said as he pointed in the direction of a trail to the beach. "Why?" He questioned me curiously. Midna looked at me with uneasiness.

"Thank you." I said to Tyler. He looked at me with a feeling of unresolved confusion. I ran in the direction of the trail as fast as I could. Little did I know Midna was following me? I rushed down the trail until I came up to the beach. I searched what felt like the whole length of it for her. When I couldn't find her, I began to get more and more flustered. If I didn't locate her soon and if she was really going to kill herself and I didn't get to her in time, I'd never forgive myself! (Speaker's note: Rose tells the story.)

I needed to get this done as soon as possible, so I ran in the direction of the beach where people wouldn't have expected me to go. I went to the section of the beach that was easiest to access by water. I jumped in and swam around the Cliffside…which took at least three or four minutes. I then reached the other end of the beach that wasn't traveled on very often. This was a good place; it's covert, and thus they wouldn't find me until the job was done. I got down on my knees in the sand…looking around me to reassure myself that there weren't any tagalongs.

With a sigh, I took a couple of minutes to think. I tried to talk myself into stopping, but I knew that I couldn't go on with life anymore. I hated it! My mother meant the world to me; I wanted nothing more than to be with her. I was tired of the pain and agony of living without her and I was tired of crying all the time. Only two things were stopping me. I was terrified of the pain I would feel with thrusting this dagger into myself, and I was thinking about all of my friends and family; which only made me weep more. I took the dagger out of my knapsack and put the handle in my fist, the blade facing me. I then said a prayer to myself. "I'm coming, mom. I can't deal with life anymore." I started to sob loudly. "It's just too miserable…I love you…" I braced myself for driving the blade into my chest.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

**Thanks for still reading, folks! Where we last left off Rose was getting ready to attempt suicide because she can't bear living life without her mother. Can Link stop her in time?**

Chapter 16: Anguish

(Speaker's note: Link tells the story.) Out of sheer luck, I found Rose when I ventured to the other direction of the beach and swam around the cliff to the part of the island that was more secluded. She was way in the distance, and I started to scamper to her. As I came closer, I realized what Arthur and I feared was coming true; she had the dagger in her hand. I yelled her name, but she wasn't listening. I wasn't going to let her die! I sprinted as fast as my body would let me, but I was scared I wouldn't make it. I quickly got down on my knees behind her as she started to shove the dagger towards her. I grabbed part of her hand and part of the handle of the dagger, trying to keep her from self-imposed death. "What the hell are you doing, Rose!" I yelled at her.

"I don't want to live!" She screamed, tears flowing from her eyes. She was attempting to stab herself by trying to force my hand to move, but I wouldn't let her. I still didn't know that Midna followed me and was watching the whole fiasco.

"Why would Rose try to kill herself?" Midna asked herself, hiding in my shadow.

"When are you going to stop?" I yelled again, struggling to keep her from wounding herself.

"Not…until…I…die!" She said in exertion to get the words out while trying to push me away.

"Think about this for a minute, Rose! I know you're upset; grieving for your mom…but this isn't how to bear with your sorrow!" I said to her. "There are so many people that care about you!" She continued to cry, this time wailing instead of staying silent. She was hard to subdue because she kept trying to punch me and doing anything she could to keep me away.

"Leave me to die!" She yelled. "Let me kill myself, damn it!"

"I would never let you kill yourself, Rose!" I yelled. "I care about you too much!" She stopped fighting for a minute and I lowered my voice. "You know how much it hurts to lose someone close to you…knowing that, would you want to inflict that kind of pain on someone else?" Her eyes were askance with melancholy. "If you die, you'll give some of the people you care about that same kind of pain! You don't have to do this! I want to help you! You've helped me; I feel like I should help you!" She let go of the dagger and allowed it to drop into the sand, covering her face with her hands while she cried. I got in front of her, only to see more heavy tears falling from her cheeks. I put my hands on her shoulders. "I'm your friend, Rose. If you would have committed suicide, I'd honestly be heartbroken."

She stayed silent for a minute, but was still crying. She put her hands down away from her face and spoke up again. "How did you know I was going to do this?"

"Arthur told me about you grabbing that dagger." I replied. She looked down. I took my hands off her shoulders and looked at her earnestly. I really hated to see her shed tears…she's normally happy. "It upsets me to see you cry." She looked up at me. "As your friend I just…I like to see you smile more." She and I stood up. She gave me a hug and started bawling, digging her face into my shoulder. I went red in the face and put my hand on her back.

"Poor Rose…" Midna said to herself, still hiding in my shadow.

After a minute or two she stopped hugging me. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You don't have to apologize." I told her. It was quiet for a moment. "Should we head back?" I asked her. She nodded.

She and I started to walk back. "Link?" She said timidly.

"Yeah?" I turned to her.

She smiled bittersweetly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." I said to her. "I'm glad you're a little happier." She was really silent, so I thought I'd speak. "Well, we'd better get go-" She kissed me on the cheek.

"Ohhhhh!" Midna Laughed. "I'm so going to tease him! This is funny!"

I swear I was as red as a tomato! "ing? Why did you do that?"

"To say thanks…" Her eyes glanced over to the side, but she looked glad. "You helped me feel happy again…and you kept me from killing myself…"

I put my hand on the back of my head and rubbed it while going red again. "Oh…" We both laughed and this time we really started to walk back to the castle. Midna followed us back, but I was still unaware of her even being there.

"Just one thing…" Rose said. I looked at her as we walked. "…It's really important that my dad doesn't know that just happened…he's…well…really strict about that stuff."

I took a deep breath, trying to stop blushing. "Okay…" I wasn't sure why I was blushing…could it be that? NO! That's impossible! I couldn't have a…crush on her…could I? That's stupid of me to think!

Rose and I made it back to the castle in time to see Carol being buried. It's never easy to watch that happen. Everyone was sobbing. I hope that whoever stabbed Carol is severely punished. The tombstone was put in place…and after a while longer the ceremony was over. Dinnertime came a while thereafter. We ate some pasta with chicken legs and thighs. Midna hadn't mentioned what she saw yet, but after dinner she made me aware that she watched Rose's attempted suicide…

"I then saw something really shocking…I can't believe it! She-"

"Don't say it, Midna!" I yelled at her.

"She kissed you! HAHAHAHAHA!" She burst out laughing. "Oh, it's so funny! It's embarrassing! HAHAHA!"

I looked maddeningly at her. "Shut up!" I yelled again, going red.

"I never thought that any girl would want to kiss you! HAHA!"

"Don't forget you've kissed me before!" I shouted.

"Touché…" She said, not paying much attention to the seriousness of my comment. She then got back to teasing me. "Anyway, you should ask her out!" She yelled.

I covered her mouth. "Knock it off! I don't want anyone to hear and you're making that really difficult!"

She calmed down and I took my hand off of her mouth. "Really, you should ask her on a date!"

"No!" I said to her. "That's the STUPIDEST idea that has ever come out of your pie hole!"

She started to laugh again. "Pie hole! That's what's pretty stupid! The way you talk! You sound like a hillbilly!" Oh! I really wanted to kill her!

A few days later came Tyler's wedding. Like Carol's funeral, Tyler's wedding was planned for the afternoon. Tyler showed me what I was to wear…a tux! Not a tux! I hate tuxes! I tried it on before the wedding, and I felt like ripping it to shreds! With the little bow on the collar and…ugh! I hate these things! I'll have to wear it, though… "For your friend Tyler…just do it…" I said to myself. A short time before the wedding I put it on again and looked at myself in the mirror. I really hate dressing formally, so this isn't going to be very fun for me! Everyone was starting to come into the throne room to sit in the pews. It was about to begin…great! I sat down next to Midna. The rest of the pew was empty. I then saw Marie sit down next to Midna.

"Hey, Link!" Marie said happily.

"Hi." I said.

"Rose! Come sit with us!" Marie shouted to Rose.

"Okay!" She hollered happily. She came over and sat down. As soon as I saw her I went red again…GREAT! Dang it! Stupid emotions! She looked really pretty. She was in a light pink dress that went past the knees, but wasn't ankle or floor length. She wore her hair down. "Hi, Link." She greeted.

"H-Hi…" I said nervously.

"You excited?" She questioned.

"Sure…y-yeah…" I said nervously again.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Midna laughed.

"Midna!" I scolded her in a hushed tone. "Shut up!"

"Is everything alright, you two?" Rose said with concern.

"Let's just say he's nervous!" Midna snorted.

"Why are you nervous, Link?" Rose asked. "You're not the one getting married. Tyler is."

I didn't say anything. Midna then continued to talk…I gave up trying to restrain her. "Oh, there's a different reason why he's nervous! And it's right in front of him!" I got ready to punch Midna...but I couldn't…not in front of everyone else!

"What do you mean?" Rose asked. "Are you just trying to taunt him?"

"No…he's really nervous when he's around-" Midna started to say. I covered her mouth. I thought she was going to stop…so I uncovered her mouth…BIG MISTAKE! "He's nervous when he's around you!" Midna said quickly. I went red.

I didn't care anymore. "That's it! You're dead, you little imp!" I punched her in the face.

Rose turned red. I stopped punching Midna after four or five punches.

"Finally, you stopped punching me! Ow!" Midna yelled, grinning evilly.

"You deserved it, you shrimp!" I shouted. Midna and I got into a verbal argument.

"Stop it, Link! Stop it, Midna! It's about to start!" Rose shouted.

It started and everyone was silent! Hallelujah! "Silence is golden!"

The wedding ceremony was great! Tyler and his new wife look very happy together. We had dinner during the reception and then came the dancing! AHHHHHHHH! That's the only thing that I hate more than tuxes! I can't dance!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 17: Reception…Continued

So…here I am…sitting down and watching everyone else dance…that's a good thing; trust me! I am hoping that I don't get asked to dance! When it comes to that, I have 2 left feet! Rose is dancing in a group with a three of her friends, Marie is dancing with Midna, and Tyler is dancing with his wife. I went over to grab some punch. Marie and Midna came up behind me.

"Hello! Why aren't you dancing?" Marie asked.

"Why don't you ask Rose to dance?" Midna cackled.

"How romantic!" Marie giggled.

"No!" I said sternly, my face getting flustered from discomfiture. "Besides…I can't dance."

"It's easy!" Midna said.

"Yeah!" Marie agreed. "Please ask her! It'd be sooooooo cute!"

"No…that's my final answer." I said. (Speaker's note: Marie tells the story.)

So…Link was being a butthead…which is too bad…I would have liked to see he and Rose dance together! Midna and I walked away from him.

"I really wanted to see them dance! It's not fair..." I complained, stamping my feet.

"I have a plan…" Midna beamed wickedly. (It's the classic Midna smile! :) "We'll see them dance!"

"Yay!" I said jovially.

Midna whispered in my ear. "Tell Rose that Link really wants to dance with her, but he's too shy to ask!"

"Okay!" I said with excitement. I ran over to Rose. "Rose! Rose! I have something to tell you!" I shouted.

"Yeah?" She stopped dancing and looked at me.

I whispered in her ear. "Link wants to dance with you, but he's too shy to ask you! You should dance with him!"

"Really?" Rose asked, blushing slightly. "Wait…did Midna tell you to do this?"

"No…" I lied, trying to seem above suspicion.

"You sure?" Rose said.

"Yep…just ask him!" I gleamed.

"Okay…" She said in consensus, but with some hesitation. (Speaker's note: Link tells the story again.)

I was just minding my own business…sitting down and looking around at everyone dancing. I'm sure glad that's not me! Then Rose came towards me. WHAT! WHY?

"Hi, Rose." I said to her.

"Hi, Link." She answered. "I was just wondering if you...wanted to dance…"

I turned red again and looked away, taking a deep breath. "No thanks."

"I think it would be fun…why aren't you dancing with anyone?" She inquired.

"I can't dance." I said.

"I'll teach you." She said while smiling. "That way we can all have some fun."

"Okay…but only because I don't want to be a jerk…I hate dancing!" I said tensely.

"You can come and dance with my friends and me." She said.

"Alright." I said. That suggestion made me feel a little more comfortable…So Rose and I went over to her friends and the five of us started to dance. I still wasn't very good at dancing, but we had fun. I looked behind me to see Midna and Marie over by the orchestra…what is up with this?

Midna talked to the conductor. "Play a slow song…like a waltz or something…"

"We can't change songs right now…we're in the middle of one." He told her.

Midna took out a purple rupee. (Worth 50 rupees) "Maybe this'll change your mind." He took it and switched the song. Midna saw that I was looking confusingly at her and she gave me thumbs up while smiling devilishly.

A waltz started to play. The other three girls ran off and found partners…I looked at Rose, who was also confused. Damn it, Midna! If I have to dance a waltz with Rose, I swear that I'll kill myself!

"Well…this is awkward…it's a waltz…Do you want to dance, Link?" She asked shyly.

"Oh, shit!" I said distressingly.

"I guess…not…?" Rose said, looking disturbed.

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" I said. "I am mad because I know that Midna set me up!"

"Oh, so Marie lied to me…" She said aloud.

"HUH! She got Marie into this, too! Why?" I said with confusion.

"I don't know…" She replied. "If we're not going to dance, then we'd better get off the dance floor." She started to walk off.

I have to be courageous…because I don't want Midna to make fun of me…but also because I like Rose. "W-would you l-like to d-dance?" I swear my legs were jiggling like jello!

"Okay." She said as she turned around. She and I headed further out on the dance floor. I was blushing with great intensity as she held my hand. She showed me how to waltz. Unfortunately it still wasn't done…I didn't pay much attention, but Midna had the conductor play three or four more slow songs. The slow songs were still playing when I started to get the hang of waltzing. I soon didn't have to look at my feet. I looked at Rose…which made me redder. I noticed that she was red in the face though, too. That surprised me! Why was she red, too? I looked over my shoulder to see Midna and Marie beaming? This is really frustrating! She and I finally stopped dancing. "That was fun!" She said.

"Yeah!" I said back. It was embarrassing, but it was fun.

"I'd like to talk to you for a minute." She said.

"Uh…sure." I said, still blushing. She took me upstairs and we went to the outside balcony at the end of the hall.

"I think that you're a really nice person, and a great friend." She smiled and I looked at her with puzzlement. "And I have to admit it…I think you're handsome, too." She really thinks I'm handsome! "I was wondering if you wanted to…uh…go on a date sometime?"

My eyes widened in surprise. "I…I…I…don't k-know…" I stuttered.

"You don't have to if you don't want to…" She looked a little disappointed.

I swallowed. I knew I really wanted to date her…but would I be brave enough to do it? "I'd honestly like to date you." I told her. "But if you haven't noticed…I'm not the most outgoing guy when it comes to this kind of stuff."

"That's okay…I don't care about how outgoing you are. You have a good heart. Don't be hard on yourself." She said considerately.

I smiled a little. "Thank you." I said to her.

She nodded. "You bet."

"Then I guess it's settled." I said, reddening again. She and I grinned.

"Since we're going out, we really have to keep it a secret from my father." She said, looking a little worried. She then had a look of reassurance. "I think we can do that, though." I nodded. She then continued to speak. "When do you want to go on a date?"

"I'm not sure when…" I said to her.

"How about we go on a date when Marie and I visit you and Midna in Hyrule?" She suggested.

"Okay." I answered. We didn't really bring up the subject anymore; wanting to keep it a secret. She walked downstairs, but I stayed at the balcony…I was a little scared to go back down and face everyone. I looked outside for a while. That's when I noticed that the sun was almost finished setting…and the stars were starting to come into view. And then Midna came up to me…again!

"So Romeo…how are you and Juliet doing?" She said maliciously.

I clenched my fists at my side and turned around to face her. "DON'T MAKE ME KILL YOU!" I yelled with my face bright red. She just giggled. The party continued on without any other interesting incidents.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

**Hello, folks! Where we last left off, Link and Rose confessed that they liked one another and they planned on dating when Rose and Marie came to visit Hyrule. So now Rose and Marie are traveling to Hyrule with Link and Midna. What'll happen next? Read on to find out! :DDDD**

Chapter 18: Coming Home

The next day Midna and I were getting ready to go home. Midna told me that she was planning to stay in Hyrule for a couple of years or so. She didn't want to go back to the Twilight Realm yet and had full confidence in the twili that she had watching the castle. She assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. She already made plans to stay at an inn, that way she'd be able to easily teleport back and forth between various areas in Hyrule.

After some discussion with Marie and Rose, Midna and I decided to take Rose and Marie with us. That way they could come and visit like they had wanted to. Tyler couldn't go, of course…because he just got married. Rose and Marie got permission from the King of Nikitre to be able to go to Hyrule…and thus…we were on our way. The four of us boarded a ship that would take us straight back to Termina. We were all hanging out on the main deck, looking out at the water.

"I'm so excited!" Marie yelled as strangers in the background were trying to cover their ears. Gee, maybe they thought she was being annoying? That sure is a novel concept! Not! Apparently maturity for Marie is still far down the road! Midna, Rose, and I distanced ourselves from the kid…being as mortified as we were.

Rose went up to Marie. "I know how you feel, Marie." She smiled. "I'm excited, too…but could you calm it down a little?"

"Sure." Marie said, looking around at her surroundings with a look of intense glee on her face. Rose sighed with relief. Marie then virtually forgot everything that Rose said when she spotted some seagulls. She ran over to them. "Yay! SEAGULLS! Come here, seagulls! I WANT TO JOIN YOU!" She waved her hands in the air. We all stared at her as if she was mental. I guess that's all apart of childish behavior, being a little "off of your rocker!"

Rose hung her head in shame as I went up to her. "That was short lived." I said.

"Yes…I know…" She complained.

Midna came up to Rose and me. "Well, the tyke is causing mayhem again…no surprise there…" She grinned. "I have an idea…why don't you leave this to me? That way…" She then started to whisper in my ear. "You can have some time alone with your girlfriend?"

I reddened quickly. "Midna! Stop it, please! You're humiliating me!"

"What is Midna doing?" Rose questioned me.

"She doesn't know, does she?" Midna snickered.

"Know what?" Rose asked.

I cleared my throat. "Well…let's just say that Midna knows we are planning to date each other…"

"Oh…" she said, looking uncomfortable. "…This is getting awkward…"

"It has been awkward for me for quite a while because of how much she teases me." I said, glaring at Midna, who beamed at an inappropriate time.

"I see." Rose said.

One of the nights that we were on the boat was quite interesting. I was sitting in a chair and looking out at the water when Marie sat in the chair next to me.

"You are thinking about a lot, aren't you?" She said, making eye contact with me. "Are you nervous about dating my cousin?"

"Yeah…I am…" I said. "It's not because of her…it's because all of the other relationships that I've been through didn't work out…"

"Oh." She said in understanding. Silence filled the air momentarily.

"It feels a little funny to talk about this in front of a little kid like you. But I've given up on believing that I'm meant to have a relationship."

"Don't say that!" Marie rebuked; looking determined to persuade me. "You just haven't found that special someone yet."

I looked down. "Maybe…"

She knelt down on the ground and made eye contact with my lowered eyes. "MAYBE Rose is that special someone." She smiled. "You two seem to make each other happy…isn't that all that really matters?"

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Marie." I smiled and gave her a noogie.

"Ow! Ok! You're welcome!" She laughed.

A few days later we were finally traveling through the forest, and we were to be in Hyrule that evening. It'll be nice to be home.

"It's a lot colder around here. Much colder than home, isn't it Marie?" Rose commented.

"Yeah…brrr…" She started to shudder from the cold. She then turned her attention to me. "I'm excited! You and Midna will have to show us everything that's cool in Hyrule!"

"I'll be sure to do that!" I said joyfully. We came to Ordon Woods and I took them to my house. As soon as we got inside, Marie kept on looking around and getting excited over everything.

"OH! This is cool!" She said with exultation. "…What is it?" She picked it up off of a shelf.

I laughed. "It's a boomerang."

Rose went over to look at it, and then talked to me. "Are you sure it's alright that Marie and I stay here? I don't want to impose…and we could always stay at an inn."

"It's alright…you're not imposing. Besides, there's plenty of room." I answered.

She smiled cheerfully. "Thanks." I got out a couple of extra blankets and pillows from the linen closet and set them on the two couches. Rose and Marie unpacked their things.

There was a knock at the door and I went to answer it. It was Colin. "Hey, Link! I saw Epona and figured you were home. It's good to have you back!"

"I'm glad to be back." I responded.

"I see you're no longer injured. That's a relief." He said with respite. May I come in?"

"Sure." I said. He came in, and almost immediately noticed Rose.

"Who is she?" He looked at her with unfamiliarity. Rose noticed that he was talking about her, stopped unpacking, and beamed at him.

"She's—" I began. Midna interrupted and pulled Colin aside.

"I'll tell you about her!" She snickered. I took a hold of her ear and dragged her away from Colin. "Hey, hey, hey!" She slapped me and I let go of her ear. "Hello! You don't have to be a jerk!"

I looked at Midna and spoke to her in a hushed tone. "Don't even think about it! I don't want him to know Rose and I are dating yet!"

"Ok! Sheesh!" She countered with vexation.

"Why are you mad at Midna?" He asked.

I panicked. "Uh…hahaha…nothing! I'm not mad!"

I turned my attention back to Colin. "She is a friend of mine. Her name is Rose." I looked at Rose to get her attention and pointed at Colin. "This is Colin. He's Rusl's son."

"It's nice to meet you, Colin." She held out her hand and they shook hands.

Colin then looked back at me and whispered in my ear. "Not trying to be rude…but why is she here?"

"She helped me. I wasn't able to walk because of my injuries…she helped me walk again, and we've become good friends. She and her cousin are here to visit." I said as Rose smiled at me. I smiled back at her.

"Oh." Colin reacted. He turned to Rose. "That was nice of you. Thanks for doing that for Link."

"You're welcome." She said with a nod. We sat and talked with one another for a while. Then I began to hear shouting coming from outside. Fado…of course! I went up the ladder to the window and peered out of it.

"! Can you send Colin home? His mom says it's time for dinner." Fado bellowed.

"Ok." I answered back. I told Colin that he had to go home. He headed out. Fado, however, wasn't done.

"Can I come in, Link?" He said from down below. "I want to hear about Tyler's wedding and how everyone over there is doing! When you first told me about them, I was anxious for you to come home so you could tell me everything."

"Sure," I said. "as long as you don't mind extra company."

"Oh. Well who's there?"

"Rose and her cousin Marie."

"Really?" He questioned. I nodded. "Wow, that's great!" He smiled. He started to come up the ladder. He walked in and noticed Rose trying to get Marie to calm down, for she was jumping on the couch. "Hi, there Miss Rose!" He smiled. He shook hands with her. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hi." She grinned. "It's nice to meet you, too. Strong grip you have!"

He chuckled. "Have things been well?"

"Yes."

"So you wanted to come and visit us, huh?"

"Yeah." She beamed. "I've always wanted to visit Hyrule."

"Cool." He said.

"Who's this guy?" Marie asked.

"He's a friend of mine." I told her.

Fado looked over towards Rose. "I need to talk to Link about herding the Goats and about Agatha. Excuse me." He pulled me outside.

As soon as we got outside and down the ladder I started to talk to him. "Why did you say that we had to talk to Agatha? I understand about the goats, but we don't talk about Agatha…she's like the plague…such a creepy girl…" I quivered.

"I had to think of something to make Rose think our conversation was of no importance." He sighed. He paused to look over towards the gate leading into the main part of the village. When the coast was clear, he continued: "She's really beautiful, isn't she?"

I blushed. "Yeah."

"Do you like her?"

"Yes…quite a lot, actually…"

"Quit leading such a boring in life! Ask her out on a date!"

"I did."

He looked surprised. "Well, what did she say?" He put his hands together and began to whisper a prayer. "Dear God, please help this man! He's about as romantic as a duck. Amen."

I laughed. "She said yes."

"Phew! Way to go, buddy!" He yelled in exultation. He high-fived me.

"Thanks." I said.

"You bet. Don't screw up!" He smiled.

"Hey!" I yelled jokingly.

"Everything alright, you two?" Rose yelled from the window.

"We're ok." I answered back.

"Good." She said while smiling.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 19: Dating is Complicated

The next day was when Rose and I decided to have our date. I was absolutely scared to death! It wasn't going to be until 6:00 in the evening; yet this didn't calm my nerves one bit, for I kept on thinking of ways it could go wrong. It was just a simple dinner at Telma's Bar! How bad could it be? I'll tell you right now! It could be terrible!

I slept in and got up that morning only to find Marie. Ilia invited Rose over, so she went over to Ilia's to get to know her. When I finished getting dressed in my room, I went over to see what Marie was doing. She was coloring a drawing. As she grew, I began to realize that she really has a knack for art.

I smiled at her. "That looks great, Marie!"

She turned to me and beamed. "Thanks!" There was a short moment of silence. I watched her color for another moment, and then I went to the kitchen to eat some breakfast. "Are you hungry?" I asked her.

"No, I already ate." She answered. I started to make myself some French toast. "Are you excited to go on your date with my cousin?"

I blushed, the warmth of it showing brilliantly on my cheeks in a pink hue. It was almost as if I had a fever for an instant. "Yes…but let's not talk about this with other people…ok?"

"Okey dokey smokey!" She giggled.

I laughed along with her. "You're very silly."

"I always thought you two would be cute together!" She said happily. "I hope it works out!"

"I do, too." I said with agreement.

While nothing much happened at my house, at Ilia's, Rose was being questioned…a lot…

(Note: Rose tells the story!) I was sitting there with Ilia and chatting with her. It was fun getting to know some of Link's friends…but I felt a little uncomfortable with Ilia asking me questions that were a little more private.

"So…what do you think of Link?" She smiled.

I blushed. "He's a very kind man…no doubt about it."

"Do you like him, as in more than a friend?"

"What? Why are you asking me that?" The redness in my face was showing more splendidly.

"Oh." She said. She looked down at the floor. "Well…it's just…He's had such a hard time finding a girl. I think he really deserves to find a great girl someday…I'm sorry that I tried to get an answer out of you…I was curious. He always says that it's no use for him to date. He believes that he needs to focus more on his work instead of finding a woman to settle down with."

"Oh, no…it's ok…" I was red in the face. She obviously doesn't know. I think it would be alright to tell her, though…she seems concerned for him. "Promise not to breathe a word of what I say."

She looked at me with a confused expression. "Ok…"

"I wanted to wait to say anything, but I feel like I can trust you. Link and I had talked about dating…we're going on a date tonight and seeing how it goes."

"Really?" She said happily. I nodded. "That's great!" She squealed. "When I first started talking to you today, I immediately thought 'this is the kind of lady that I know Link would like.'"

I grinned. "I'm glad to have reconnected with him. And he does deserve to meet a great woman. He's so kind and humble."

"He is." She looked around the room with a look of content. "So…where are the two of you going for your date?"

"Telma's Bar."

"Oh. Are you going around dinnertime?"

"Yeah. Which is good; because I know I'll be hungry."

She chuckled. "Good. Going out to dinner is a great first date. You know how you told me about your little cousin; who's going to watch her?"

"Fado is going to watch her."

"Oh. He'll do an excellent job taking care of her."

"Yeah. He will."

"Are you nervous?"

"Heck yeah!" I laughed nervously.

"It'll go well, I'm sure of it." She smiled at me. I smiled back at her.

That afternoon I went home and finished getting ready to go. I was pretty sure that it would go alright; I mean Link and I have been friends for so long. It just feels odd to think about us being more than that. I waited to leave because I was early. I was going to meet Link at the Ranch because he went early to help herd the goats. I was excited, but extremely nervous!

It was finally time to go see him. I wore casual clothing that included jeans and a blouse. I went up to the ranch entrance and saw Fado coming up to me.

"You ready for your date with Link?" He asked.

I was surprised that he knew, but I just nodded. "Yes. By the way, where is he? I looked around but I didn't see him."

"Oh. He's hiding in the stables behind the crates." He laughed. "He's a little nervous!"

"Hiding?" I was confused. (Note: Link tells the story!)

"I can do this; I can do this!" I whispered to myself. "Ugh! Who am I kidding? I can't do this! People might as well call me 'Dr. Timid' or some other stupid, lame name!" I heard footsteps coming, so I peeked and saw Rose coming towards the stables. I hurried to the back window, opened it up, and climbed out through it. I ran into the smokehouse (not in use) and closed the door. She won't find me here! Everything was fine for a few minutes, but then a mouse came to me. No big deal, I'm not scared of them! But this one thought that my finger was delectable? Crunch! "Holy crap! Could you bite any harder!" I yelled in pain.

A few seconds later Rose came in. "Aha! Found you!" She laughed. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ummm…define ready."

She looked at me with a confused expression. Then she spoke with a tone of sarcasm. "Oh! Now I see what's going on! You're nervous, aren't you? I didn't know that!"

Great! I've been discovered; not only in a physical sense, but in a sense of how I'm currently feeling as well (that's a mouthful!). I should've known that it would be inevitable. "Ok. I'm nervous. The cat's out of the bag."

She had a look of satisfaction on her face. "Good! Should we get going?"

"Ok." I said. We walked together and headed over to Epona. She and I both climbed on and started on our way to Telma's bar.

There was an awkward silence for a while, but then Rose spoke to me. "It's ok to be nervous…I'm nervous, too." She looked at the ground, and then at me again. "You don't need to be ashamed of it." I nodded in agreement. "Besides, I think it'll go well."

"I hope." I said.

"Of course it will!" She said. "I'm sure of it!"

A half hour later we were at Telma's bar. Rose and I walked in and noticed that everyone was whispering, but when they saw us, they stopped. This could be bad! Then Telma came out of the kitchen.

"Anybody want more pickles?" She yelled. Everyone got up and left. She looked disappointed at first, but I realized that it was a farce because she briefly wore a smile. Great! We were set up! And she got her customers involved with her plan! She walked over to us.

"Hey there, you two!" She smiled. "You ready to sit?" She gestured her hand to the only table that was set. It looked out of the ordinary compared to the other plain wooden tables because it had a white tablecloth and lighted candles on top. Does everybody know about us dating?

"Sure! We're ready to sit." Rose grinned. I crossed my arms. "Everything okay?" She asked me.

"I need to talk to Telma for a minute." I said.

"Ok."

"Telma." I said.

"…Oh! Yes! Certainly!" Telma answered. She and I went into the kitchen.

"You're not fooling anyone!" I whispered angrily. "You set us up and I don't appreciate it!"

She looked a little upset, but then she was angry. "Look, honey…I was just trying to help you! When it comes to this kind of stuff, you have the intelligence of a Quail!"

"I do not play with danger!" I hollered. I covered my own mouth. (A little random, but I suppose quails are considered birds that play with danger. Crosses the road when vehicles are rolling towards them? Yeah. :)

"What's the matter?" Rose yelled.

"Nothing! It's ok!" I shouted.

"I'm not saying that you 'play with danger.'" Telma said. "I'm saying when it comes to love and relationships you don't really understand how it works. So I'm trying to help you by giving you and Rose some time alone."

I then realized that she didn't really mean any harm. "I'm sorry. I got defensive. I would appreciate it if you'd meddle a little less. I think I can handle it."

"Ok. I understand." She said. I left the kitchen and went to the table where Rose was. Telma came over with a couple of menus, set them down, and went back to the kitchen.

After a few minutes of looking at the menu, Rose spoke up. "This looks really good!" She pointed to the vegetable beef soup and bread. "We could have that…" Then she pointed to the macaroni salad. "And then we could have that. What do you think?"

"It looks good. I'm in the mood for anything." I smiled at her and she smiled back. So that was what we ordered. Less than half an hour later, the food was ready and we started to eat. I was silent for quite a bit of the meal, my heart thumping quickly the whole time. I think it was mostly because of my nerves, but I really couldn't think of anything to talk about. Thus, Rose did most of the talking and she also picked a lot of the topics. Finally she tried to get me to talk a little more.

"So…what do you want to talk about?" She asked.

"Umm…I don't know." I said to her.

She giggled, and my heart began to beat faster. When I didn't say anything again, her light-heartedness turned to worry. "Are you ok? I know you're nervous, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"I'm ok." I said with a grin. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Ok." She looked relieved. We continued to eat and talked a little bit more. Then I thought it might be fun to take her to Lake Hylia. She and I went there and sat by the water.

"I thought that went really well! And the food was good!" Rose said.

"Yeah!" I agreed. "It went really well, and the food was great!"

Rose looked at me. "It's getting dark. Are you ready to head home?"

"Yeah. I think so." I looked out at the sunset.

"Oh! You look um, tense. I know a way to help you relax." She said.

"Ok." I said back. I wasn't really tense, but I was still nervous. I wonder why she thought I was tense.

"Ok. Close your eyes." She instructed. I closed my eyes. "Now don't open them." I nodded. "Take a deep breath…" I took a deep breath. "Hold it." I held it. "Now exhale." I exhaled. "Is that better?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"Good! I think deep-breathing is a good way to deal with an uneasy mind." I nodded. "Maybe you should do it again? I'm…uh…not convinced that you're relaxed."

I took a deep breath and held it. Then I felt her lips touching mine. I liked kissing her. I exhaled softly through my nose and opened my eyes. I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes once more. After a few seconds I stopped kissing her and stood up. "Umm…uh…I…uh…" I couldn't think of what to say. I then thought that it might be good to compliment her and say how I liked kissing her. But of course, it had to come out wrong. "I…uh…um…ewewewyoooou are…lahahahaha…uhh…" I knew what I wanted to say, but I was so nervous that I couldn't form the words.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Uh…yeah…um…" I took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm just so nervous. You're so beautiful." She blushed. "And I really like kissing you…" I could really feel my heart pounding. "Umm…" She smiled.

"You're so sweet." She told me. She kissed me on the lips again, but this time it was short. "I like kissing you, too." She and I grinned at each other.

"Are you ready to head back?" I inquired. She nodded. We climbed onto Epona and went back. When we got back to my house, it was about midnight. Rose and I thanked Fado for watching Marie and he headed home. Rose went to check on Marie.

"She's fast asleep." Rose said. "I'm tired myself…so I think I'll go to bed." I headed towards the ladder that leads to my bedroom as she went over to the couch to sleep. I stopped when she said, "I had a lot of fun tonight."

"Me too." I said to her. I yawned. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She pulled the blanket over her and I went downstairs to bed.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 20: Emotions

Rose and I dated each other for a year and a half. We had a really great time together, and I was starting to develop strong feelings for her. I've never felt that way before, so I must admit, it scared me. Sometimes when I was alone, I questioned the strength of our relationship. I didn't question it because I thought that either one of us could be unfaithful to one another; I knew that we both would never do that. I questioned it because I was afraid. I felt that I didn't deserve Rose; she was too good to me. I felt that I shouldn't weigh her down with my own imperfections. But whenever I thought in this way, I'd think about how much we cared for one another, and then I'd forget about it. This time was different. I knew that I deeply cared for her, but she had to go home to Nikitre. That day was pretty sad for me.

I gave Marie a hug. "I'm going to miss you, Marie."

"I'm going to miss you too, Link! It'll be weird not having you with us." She said sadly.

I nodded in accord and went up to Rose. "I'm going to miss you…so much." I gave her a hug and a quick kiss.

"I'm going to miss you very much as well." Tears started to flow from her eyes and I used my finger to gently wipe them away. She gave me a big hug.

"Be safe. I don't want you hurt." I said.

"Don't worry. I'll be alright." She smiled. I looked over at Marie who was over a few yards away talking to and petting Epona. Rose quickly got my attention again. "Link…"

"Yeah?" I said, looking into her eyes.

"I…" She paused for a long time. "I thought about us…I want us to still be together, and I know we can be. It would just have to be a long-distance relationship. I know that no matter what, we'll always be friends, but I want us to still be a couple, too."

"I do, too." I said. "I think that sounds great…but we'll have to try our best to visit one another as often as possible."

"We can do that!" She smiled sweetly.

I waved goodbye as they left and shortly after, they were out of sight. I felt terrible. I contemplated about our "long-distance relationship" all of that afternoon and all through the night. I began talking to myself. "But she's a princess. And obviously I'm not a prince. We won't really work out in the long run, especially because her father will never accept me as her boyfriend. She needs to be with a prince." That next day I called her on my orb.

She answered happily. "How's my man doing?"

"I'm good." I said. "How's my lady doing?"

"Good."

"I need to talk to you about this face to face, but you're too far away already to do that."

"Ok." She said.

"I don't…" I had extreme difficulty getting the words out. "I don't feel like we're working out."

"Huh?" she said with a confused tone. "What do you mean?"

I was trying to hold back tears. Midna looked worried for me. "Just a second." I said to Rose. I covered the reciever and turned towards Midna. "I…" I took a deep breath because my voice was breaking. "I need to talk about this with Rose alone."

"Ok." Midna answered. She left the room.

I uncovered the receiver. "I don't deserve you…and I need to be honest. You need to be with a prince, not with me. I don't deserve to care about you in a way that's more than a friend. Why should I keep you from loving someone that deserves you?"

"Link…this is silly." She cried. "I don't care if you're a prince or not! I'm still going to care for you in the same way. Nothing can change that."

I have to think of a way to break up with her so she can find a man worthy of her. "I…I don't truly care about you in the way you care about me." I just want to be friends." I lied. "I don't have time for a relationship, anyway. I need to focus on my work. So I'd like to end it…Friends?" There was no answer. "Rose?" She had hung up. I was sad about it, but I figured that I did the right thing. Now I couldn't hold her back. Now she had the opportunity to fall in love with a man of her dreams.

(Note: Rose tells the story.) I couldn't believe it…I was hurt so badly. I was mad at Link. I mean, I thought he felt the same way for me as I felt for him. I should've talked to him before I left and told him how I felt. Now he's lost interest. I cried after I hung up the receiver. I went to the pond to wash my face so Marie wouldn't see, but I couldn't stop crying. I went back to the campground with tears in my eyes. "Are you ready to go, Marie?"

"Yeah." She said, looking at me. She looked disturbed almost instantly. "What's wrong?"

"I can't hide it from you, huh? Link and I…we…we broke up…"

"Huh? Why?"

"He doesn't care about me in a way that's more than a friend." I looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry…" Marie replied sadly. "We'll still be friends with him and talk to him, right?"

"I don't know, Marie…he broke my heart." Tears swelled in my eyes.

"Oh." She frowned. "I guess fairytales don't happen, huh?"

"I don't know anymore…" I sighed depressingly.

We stayed silent as we packed up our stuff. We then loaded our packs into the carriage and continued towards Nikitre. I cried for so long and so often that I can't put a number of hours to it. I don't think I'll see or talk to Link for a long time…or maybe never again, which makes me sad. Nothing much happened for the rest of the trip home.

Once we were home a few days later, Marie and I went to go say hello to everyone. Tyler came up to me. "So…how did dating Link go?"

I was shocked. "You knew?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"Does father know?"

"Yeah…father knows, and he doesn't like it at all." He looked serious. "He told me that he wanted to 'have a few stern words with you' when you came home."

"It's alright." I said, looking down at the floor to hide my sadness. "We aren't dating anymore."

"By the way you're acting, something went wrong. What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know…the relationship was going really well. And then Link just said suddenly 'I don't deserve you. You deserve a Prince, not me. I don't feel for you in a way that's more than a friend. Let's end it.' It broke my heart…and I don't know why he did it."

"Oh." Tyler said. "He's right by saying that you deserve a Prince; you're supposed to be with a Prince. This is why royalty dates only royalty, not common-folk like Link." He looked at me. "But something bothers me. Treating you like crap like he did…that's not normally like him. I wonder what's wrong."

"I do, too." I said forlornly.

A couple of days passed. One day my father came up to me to have a father-daughter talk. "I know it makes you sad…this whole thing with Link. It's for the best, though."

"Perhaps it is." I said.

"I have a proposal." He said. "Why don't we forget about Link and find you a real man? A Prince!"

"I…I don't know." I said to him. "I don't think I'm—"

"Nonsense! Of course you're ready! It'll help you recover from this dilemma. That, and compared to your brother, you're quite late for finding the spouse that you'll share the throne with."

"Alright." I said. "I'll do it."

"Ok. But we don't have enough time for you to have a very long relationship…you have waited too long for that. I've already taken the liberty of finding a few takers. We'll have to see who turns out to be the best man for you."

"Ok." I said, feeling a little down. Strangely enough, however, I felt a little more at ease than I did before. It felt like starting over; a new slate when it came to relationships. "When will I see the candidates?"

"They're coming here tomorrow. So dress in your best clothes and look pretty!" He told me.

"Ok. I understand." I replied.

The next day was absolutely insane. I met a lot of men and they were all quite interested in me. A few of them were very odd and they scared me, so they were easy to eliminate. I was down to three men…this wasn't what I had in mind, but ok...So basically I was picking my future spouse tonight, we'd go on a couple of dates, and then we'd get married within less than 3 months…ok…It was between a really nice man named Shon, a man named Erick, and a man named Thomas. Thomas and Erick were a little odd, and not my type. I really liked Shon, and I thought he was a sweet man. So, since I had to pick, I picked him.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

Chapter 21: The Truth

A little span of time passed, and then I was getting prepared to get married to Shon. By then I felt better about the situation with Link and I was able to do all but forget him. I was excited, and I cared for Shon very much; he has quickly become the love of my life! I couldn't believe I was getting married in only a week!

Syhnthia, one of the other maids, came into my room. "Rose! Lights out, Dearie! You have your dress-fitting tomorrow!" She told me.

"Okay." I sat in my chair and thought to myself. I keep on thinking that something has gone array. My heart flutters with anxiousness for this day to come, but I feel…sad. "What is it?" I keep on asking myself…a girl should be happy to be this close to marriage! I have only been dreaming about it my whole life! I got into bed, pulled the covers up to my chin, and slowly drifted to sleep.

(Link tells the story) Things haven't been too exciting lately; just normal. I haven't heard from Rose in a long time. This concerned me, but then I figured that not only was our relationship over, but our friendship as well. I really burned some bridges and I felt ashamed for lying to her, but I was relieved to know that she was going to end up with someone better than me. But regarding my feelings, I otherwise didn't know how to feel. I was in a state of just not caring anymore.

One day Midna came to Ordon from the Inn to talk to me. I was at the ranch herding goats when she grabbed my ear and started pulling it. I stopped Epona. "Owowowowow!" I yelled. "What are you doing that for?"

She continued to tug and forced me off of Epona. "First, we have to go where no one will hear us." She dragged me off into the forest. When we reached our destination, she sighed deeply. "You and Rose may not be talking anymore, but I'm still talking to her. She told me that she's getting…" She swallowed. "…She's getting married in a week."

My eyes widened. "Really?" I paused. She nodded earnestly. "Ok." I said. "But why tell me this?"

She grabbed me by the shirt collar. "Don't you DARE play dumb!" She yelled as she shook me.

"What are you talking about?" I struggled.

"You and I both know you still care for her; I would even say she's still more than a friend to you!"

"She is not!" I reddened.

She stopped shaking me. "Oh, yeah?" She shouted, and then she whispered. "I'll bet that you love her and won't admit it!"

"I…I've never loved her." I said nervously.

"Then why did you come so close to crying when telling her you had to break up? You don't normally ever cry. Why do you still blush when anyone mentions her name? Why did you answer with a nervous tone when you said you didn't love her, as if you were trying to hide a lie? Huh?" I didn't say anything. "Answer me!" She yelled. She had created enough commotion for Fado, Ilia, Rusl, and a few other people to come and see what was wrong. She let go of my shirt. "Well?"

"I…" I ran home, and they chased after me. I locked my door and I used magic to put a force-field on my house so Midna couldn't get in through the walls.

"Damn it!" Midna yelled. "Don't expect this to help the situation! Running from your problems never helps!"

"I don't have a problem." I fibbed.

"Quit it, Link! You know what the issue is!"

"What's the issue?" Ilia asked.

"Don't you dare tell her of your accusations, or anyone else for that matter!" I hollered from the window.

Midna whispered into Ilia's ear. "So I'm not the only one who thought that." She said to Midna.

"Midna!" I exploded. "Quit lying to everyone!"

"You quit lying, Link!" Ilia countered. "You need to be honest; not just to us, but to yourself and to Rose."

"What's going on, anyway? The drama is entertaining to a point but I want to know what's up." Rusl said.

"Link…" Ilia began. Midna covered her mouth and whispered in her ear again. Midna uncovered Ilia's mouth and Ilia smiled. "Link will tell you what the problem is."

"What? No I won't!" I shouted.

"Yes you will." Ilia said.

I took a deep breath, took off the force-field, and went outside. I stood in front of everyone silently. "I can't hide the truth anymore." I said, sighing deeply. "…I still feel like Rose is more than a friend…I…" I looked around for a second. "The reason why I lied to her was because I was too scared to tell her that…" I took another deep breath. "That I loved her."

"Really?" Fado asked.

"Yes." I said honestly. I looked up at the sky. "I love her very much. I foolishly let go of her because of that foreign feeling that I had for her. I'd think to myself, 'it'll never work out. I'm not meant to love.' I let my cowardice control my life and thus, I'll have to give up and forget about her."

"If I know one thing for sure, you can't forget about her…it isn't possible." Rusl said. I looked at him as he continued. "But you can't give up! Tell her the truth!"

"If only it were that simple." I said gravely.

"Rose is getting married to a man that she really cares about in a week." Midna added.

"Oh." Rusl said.

"I feel the need to tell her the truth at least." I said sadly. "But I can't. I don't have time."

"You only think you don't have time." Midna opposed. "Even if you don't tell her that you love her, at least tell her that you're sorry for breaking up with her and that you still want a friendship with her."

I looked at Midna. "I can't do that…it would be too awkward. I have these strong feelings inside for her; I can't just tell myself that we're friends. And after all the drama and confusion I've given her, I don't think she'd accept it. I've made a huge mistake that I can't repair…but I have to set things straight, at least for myself."

"So…are you going to tell her that you love her, then?" Midna asked. "Even though you know that you will not get back together with her?"

"Yes." I said. "I'm scared to do it, but it's the right thing to do. She needs to know." Midna nodded.

Ilia interrupted. "Don't go over and tell her thinking like that!" She shouted, but immediately calmed down. "You two had a really good relationship going…I think…" she got closer to me. "…that you need to tell her that you feel you made a mistake, like you just told us. Tell her that you want to be with her, and see what happens." I didn't respond. "Come on, Link…" Ilia said. "She's getting married to another guy; how does that make you feel?"

I looked at her and everyone else around me, clenching my fists. "I'll do it!" I barked. "It's a risk, but I can't bear the thought of her being with someone else!"

"Atta boy!" Fado bellowed merrily.

"Good." Rusl beamed, patting me on the back.

Ilia looked at me. "I hope everything turns out okay for the two of you." She smiled. "Hurry and go tell her!"

I nodded and went home to quickly pack my things. When I was finished, I climbed onto Epona and got ready to go. Midna wanted to come with me, so we were both on our way to Nikitre. Nothing much happened that week; Midna and I were rushing to try and make it in time. Soon it was the day of the wedding, and we were just entering the main island. I was riding Epona as fast as I could through the town.

"I think we might make it, Link!" Midna said from behind.

"I hope we can." I said without confidence. All of the buildings and the people looked like blobs because we were moving so quickly.

"…Don't lose your faith." She said to me. "Sometimes, especially at your weakest hour, faith is all you have…if you lose that, you have nothing. Have the will to keep trying!" She gave me thumbs up. I gave one back to her. Midna and I rushed to the chapel…I really thought that things were going to be okay, but to my dismay, there was Rose and some other man riding away in a carriage. No one ever noticed that Midna and I were there. So I went to the beach and just sat there in the sand.

I looked out at the water with tears rolling down my cheeks. "Why? Why does it have to be this way? Why does it have to be so difficult?" I shouted in anger. I calmed down. "She'll never know now…" I looked at Midna, who remained silent. "Well at least she's with a man that will make her happy…why should I ask for anything else?"

Midna looked down at the sand, and then at the water. She squinted her eyes while looking at the sunset. "Because you're not happy…" She looked at me as I just stared blankly at the water. "Write her a letter, maybe?"

"No thanks." I said bluntly. "I give up. I've lost my faith."

"What now?" She questioned. "It's not like we can just turn right around and head home. We have to get some rest."

"Beats me." I retorted. She closed her eyes while crossing her arms and shaking her head.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the Characters.**

**Thanks again for reading! These past couple of chapters were hard to write! :( Where we last left off, Link admitted that he was in love with Rose, but he wasn't able to get to Nikitre in time to tell her before she got married to Shon. What'll happen next? Read on! :D**

Chapter 22: Trouble

I was about ready to leave when I heard a familiar voice. I waited and listened. The voice was with another voice. The voices got louder, and I knew that one of the voices belonged to Annie. The other voice screamed my name and started to come towards me. I looked and there was Marie. She was now 10.

"It's you! And Midna!" She yelled with glee. "I can't believe it! Did you come for the wedding?"

"Yeah." I said forlornly.

She didn't notice my misery. "Well, it's a little late for that. They already got married. I'm sorry."

"I know." I said. At this point I wasn't making eye contact with her or Annie, who had come closer to join the conversation.

"Well…what are you going to do then?" Marie probed.

"Go home." I reacted robotically.

"What?" She cried. "You can't do that! Not yet! Come stay with us!"

"But aren't Rose and her husband there?"

"No. They're going to the country that Shon lives in, Clikorenaf! Tyler and his wife rule Nikitre."

"Oh. Okay, I'll stay."

"Midna?" Marie questioned.

"Sure." She said.

"Okay then!" Marie giggled with glee.

"Say Marie…" Annie said. "Let me talk to Link alone as adults first."

"Okay." She said. "Midna, let's go play in the water!" She ran towards the waves.

"Wait up!" Midna floated after her, wearing a fake smile.

Annie and I sat in the sand. "I've known you for quite a while…not as long as Rusl and the others back in Hyrule, but I've known you long enough to know that there's something wrong. Tell me." I stayed silent. "Don't keep it bottled up. Trust me." I remained still. "I have a feeling that it has to do with Rose. Otherwise you wouldn't have come all this way. If you won't tell me that, then why don't you tell me how your relationship ended? What happened between the two of you?"

"…Nothing…" I finally said. "I just broke up with her."

"Why?" She tested me.

"I…I didn't think I was…good enough for her." I said dejectedly.

"What? Why? All she ever told me was how much she enjoyed being with you and how she was—" She stopped herself by covering her own mouth.

"What?" I queried.

"Nothing." She told me. "She just…never seemed upset with you or thought that you weren't good enough for her. She cared for you very much."

"Oh." I realized that feeling unworthy was perhaps all in my head.

"She…she was devastated when you broke up with her. She cried for the longest time…I tried everything to make her feel better. She probably cried over the whole thing for at least a few days, off and on. It was tough on her. I don't think that's what you wanted, now was it?"

"No. I'd never want to make her cry." I felt really bad at that point.

"I don't think that feeling unworthy of her was the only reason why you broke up with her. Why else?"

"I…let's just say I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Of…" I ended there and took a deep breath. I looked out at the water and in the direction of Midna and Marie.

"I think I know." She said. "You were scared of telling Rose how strong your feelings for her really are. You love her, don't you?"

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. I quickly opened my eyes in her direction and spoke to her with intensity. "More than anything."

"I see now. It's typical for guys to be like that. They want to seem big and tough…they don't like to show emotion. That's how you were when your dad died, too. So I figured this was a similar situation."

"Yeah." I agreed with her. "I now realize just how big of a mistake that was."

"I'm sorry." She said with grimace. "I don't think there's any way of fixing your dilemma with Rose. She's…well, moved on."

"That's alright. I already understand that."

"Things will get better." She smiled sadly.

"Yeah." I said, not necessarily agreeing with her, but answering her. Midna and I stayed at the castle for a few nights. It was fine, I guess. I spent most of my time thinking about Rose and regretting my decisions. The night before we left, Midna was on her orb.

"Don't you think it's a little odd that no one's heard from Rose and her husband yet?" I asked her.

"It's a little odd." Midna said. "But they're probably just busy."

"Yeah." I said back.

"Midna was doing something on her orb, and then she suddenly looked shocked. "Link! Look at this!" I came over and looked. She searched up Clikorenaf and it said no results. "Clikorenaf doesn't exist! This is getting really fishy!"

I was shocked to see that Clikorenaf didn't exist. Midna called Rose on her orb to make sure she was okay. "Midna!" Rose answered. "God, am I glad to hear from you!"

"Are you alright?" She asked. I was listening to the conversation form a distance.

"No. I'm not. Everything was fine for the first few days, but…" She paused, as if to make sure no one was listening, then she continued. "Shon lied about being a Prince, and he started treating me badly; he's yelling all the time. Now as of late he's been trying to make me help him rule Nikitre, and then the world. He's absolutely evil, and it scares me. I've refused to help him and he keeps on hurting me. He stabbed me in the arm yesterday. It took me 3 hours of compressing it to get it to stop bleeding…" She started to cry softly. "I'm scared of what he'll do next."

"Why didn't you just say so? I'll be there! Don't worry!" I shouted.

"Huh? Is that you, Link?" She asked.

"Yeah…and I'm sorry this is happening to you. I'm coming to protect you! Where are you?"

"I'm on top of Mt. Kammzudem on the main Island. It's an old castle…the one that was the original royal castle."

"Alright! Don't worry!" I said with urgency.

"I won't!"

I calmed down to tell her something. "Rose…I…I'm sorry about how things went with us…I just felt the need to apologize about that." I said sincerely. "I didn't want to hurt you…and I feel terrible about it now."

"It's alright…you don't need to worry about—" Shon barged into the room. I could tell because the door banged loudly and I heard screeching.

"What's this? How dare you tell others about me and my intentions?" He bellowed fiercely. "Here's how I feel about it!" He broke a vase or something else fragile. "That'll be you when I'm done, sweetheart!" There was the sound of more things breaking and Rose screaming.

I grabbed the orb and starting running for Epona. "Fight him off, Rose!" I said while running. "Fight him off until I get there!" There was another scream and the call was dropped. I had Midna put the orb away while I steered Epona, and we rushed to rescue Rose. I didn't want her hurt more than she already was, so I had to hurry!

(Rose tells the story) "Stop it! Stop it, please! Shon! Please don't do this! Don't hurt me!" He grabbed a dagger and tried to slice at me. I ran just fast enough to avoid it, until I tripped. He was trying to get my back, but he got my thigh instead, for he lost his balance and fell as well. I got up, winced in pain, and tried to run away.

"Don't run away, you worthless piece of shit! Let me kill you!" He laughed maniacally. We kept up this fight for a good ten minutes. I found a kitchen knife and figured I could do a better job at trying to defend myself. I stabbed his stomach. "How dare you do that to me?" He grabbed at his stomach in pain. "Prepare to die!" He grabbed my dress and pulled me towards him. He wrapped his arm around my neck and had the dagger aimed at it. "Say a prayer!" I bit his arm and ran again. He dropped the dagger, ran to me, and knocked my knife out of my hand. He then punched me hard enough in the stomach for me to cough up blood, and picked me up and threw me at the wall. He threw me a few more times until finally throwing me down to the ground. My body was in so much pain that it was showcasing convulsions. Feeling weak and defenseless, I just laid there, waiting for him to kill me.

Not a moment too soon, I heard Link scream my name from above. He jumped down and took Shon in an arm lock. He was able to pick him up off of the ground, run towards the wall, and even heaved him at it. "How does that feel, you asshole? Huh? How about THIS!" He threw Shon harder at the wall.

Midna came over to me to make sure I was okay. "Rose…" She said to me. She started to check my injuries.

I was losing consciousness. "Mid…na…" I blacked out. The last thing I heard was Midna scream at me to not close my eyes.

(Midna tells the story) I was freaking out at that point. I started to check her vital signs while watching to make sure Link was okay at the same time. Her vital signs were weak, but she was still breathing. Thank goodness, but she can't take much more. She was bleeding profusely, so I tried to compress her wounds, especially the one on her thigh because it was so deep. Link was stabbed in the arm by Shon's dagger…but Link had the upper hand with his sword. He stabbed Shon in the leg. He broke free for a moment and got a sword. He managed to stab Link deeply in the back, and Link fell to the ground. "LINK!" I yelled. Shon ran towards Rose and I put a force-field on her and I. "Stay away!" I shouted.

"You aren't getting anywhere near them!" Link yelled as he stood up and ran towards Shon. But Shon knew magic as well. He shot a red sphere at Link and it sent him flying back. (It was the same kind of red sphere that the man who broke Link's legs used.) "Link!" I yelled. "It's the same guy who broke your legs five years ago!"

"Yes! I remember you now!" He said as he picked up Link by the shirt collar. "You were the one who wanted to save that little girl! Your father killed my father, but before my father could die, he killed your father, and I killed Rose's mother to get revenge!" Link was angry at this, but before he could react any more Shon threw Link again and ran towards Rose and me. He shot a red sphere at me and broke the force-field. I used dark magic on him, but he was too powerful. He shot out a yellow sphere at me and imprisoned me. I began losing my strength.

"Not again!" I screamed. I saw that Link was unconscious. "Link! Save Rose! Please wake up!"

(Link tells the story) I woke up and saw Shon heading towards Rose. I got up and limped towards Rose. "No!" I screamed bloody murder as I tripped. He stabbed her in the stomach. Midna was unconscious and I was the only one left. I used all of my strength to run at him and try to finish him off. "This is for Rose!" I yelled. I stabbed him in the back until it came out through his stomach. I pulled it out and saw his eyes roll into the back of his head. He collapsed. I checked his pulse to make sure he was dead. There was nothing. The force-field that trapped Midna disappeared and she came to my aid. I went over to Rose and kneeled down. I started to try and compress her stomach wound with a blanket. Midna tried to help me as much as possible. I checked Rose's pulse and it was barely there at all. I collapsed with exhaustion as Midna tried to tend to Rose's injuries along with mine.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. **

Chapter 23: Despair

When I woke up I crawled over to Rose and lightly tapped her cheek. "Rose…can you hear me? Please, please wake up! I don't want it to end this way." Midna moved aside for a moment. I put my ear close to her mouth to listen for breathing. It was soft, and more like weak gasping, and then it stopped. I panicked. "Rose, please don't die." I gently kissed her on the lips. I started to lose hope as there was still no answer, so I put my head in my hands and started to cry silently.

"I'm sorry, Link…" Midna said. "We lost a good friend today."

I cried more loudly, each breath sounding more like a gasp as I literally let it all out. I then heard coughing. It was Rose!

She opened her eyes and looked at me. "Link…"

"Thank God!" I said happily.

She gleamed weakly at me. "You killed Shon, huh?" I nodded. "Good. At least…at least he didn't get a hold of the heirloom…if he did, things would have been worse." She managed to say. She coughed again and breathed through her nose.

"Yes. Things would have been worse." I said to her as I kissed her on her forehead. "Everything's okay now, so please rest, okay?"

"Okay." She said. "But why…why did you just kiss me?"

"I definitely have some explaining to do." I held her hand. "First off, how are you feeling? I want to make sure you're alright."

She nodded. "I'm alright. It's just hard to breathe." She then started to cough again and this time, she coughed up blood. I took a handkerchief and wiped the blood. I started to realize that her injuries were affecting her breathing. As I looked at her and tried to comfort her, fears were buzzing around in my head. Above all, I was afraid that some of her organs were going to shut down from the shock of the wounds.

"I'm getting some water for her." Midna said.

"Thanks." I answered. Midna nodded and headed off. I looked back at Rose. "I feel terrible…I lied to you and I shouldn't have done that. If I knew that this would be the outcome, I certainly wouldn't have done it."

"What did you lie about?" She asked.

"Our relationship." I said. She tried to speak, but she coughed again. "Please don't talk." I started to tear up. "It's only…" My voice was breaking as I caressed her cheek. "It's only making you weaker." She nodded. "…I did feel the same way…I still wanted us to be a couple…but I felt like I didn't deserve you and that I didn't deserve to feel the way I did for you. I loved you, Rose; and I still do." She smiled a weak smile. "You're my other half. I don't know what I'd ever do without you. I love you more than anything in this world."

"I love you too, Link." She started to cry. "When I was about to leave for Nikitre, I wanted to tell you that I loved you, but I was scared too, so I paused to think of something else."

"Oh." I said with a smile. "Well, now we both know." We both let out a little chuckle. I knelt closer to her and lifted her slightly to kiss her. I put her down and Midna came over with the water. She gave her a drink and I laid her down again. She started to cough again, this time more severely. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

She shook her head and wheezed while breathing. "I feel like I'm getting weaker, and…I'm in a lot of pain. It hurts so badly to breathe; it's like a sharp blade stabbing me each time I take a breath. She coughed again, and a huge amount of blood came out, splattering all over her and the floor. "I don't…" She turned to the side and coughed some more; the blood forming a pool on the floor. "I don't know if I can make it..." Midna just watched with terror in her eyes.

"D-don't say that!" I said to her desperately. "It'll turn out okay! You and I both know that. You'll get better, and we can be together. It'll be great. We can go back to the castle and look at the frogs like we did when we were little, you and Marie can visit Hyrule again…there's so much life yet to live! You can't be dying!"

"Trust me, Link…I want to do those things…but I think it's my time to go."

"No…just…just tell me what to do to help. I'll make sure that you don't die!"

"I don't think you can't keep me from dying…I will have to leave you and everyone else on earth." She coughed and blood came out again. I took the handkerchief and held it to her mouth as she cried.

She started wheezing and coughing more frequently. And then came the scary part. Her breaths were becoming shallower and shallower…soon she was gasping for air. "ROSE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I tried giving her CPR for five minutes, but it didn't help much.

She used the last bit of her strength to talk to me. "I love you, and I always will."

"I love you too, and I always will." I said to her. Her eyes closed slowly as she took a final breath and simply quit breathing. I checked her pulse again. It was gone. I started to sob very loudly, and Midna cried too. I couldn't believe this was happening. I was filled with so much grief that I physically couldn't make myself stop crying. I turned to Midna. "She's…gone…"

"I know. It's…devastating." She said. She put her hand on my shoulder. "She will be missed." She went to grab some blankets and I wrapped Rose's body in them.

"Let's take her home." I said finally.

"Alright."

Midna and I took Rose's body home and showed it to her father. He was shocked.

"Who did this?" Harold yelled in anger and devastation. "Did you do this, Link!"

"Trust me." Annie said, coming out from hiding behind a pillar. "It wasn't Link. It was Shon. He was abusive to Rose…and he finally ended up killing her."

"Oh my God!" Tyler said with horror. He stood there with his mouth wide open.

"That's terrible." Abigail said.

"Oh..." Harold said sadly. "My poor daughter!" He started to sob. "I…I don't know what to say. I'm so sad." He thought to himself, and then addressed me. "Is Shon dead?"

"Yes. I killed him, sir." I said.

"This is a tragedy…Guards, please make a coffin for my baby girl." He continued to sob as they saluted to him and went to work. After a few minutes of mourning, he gained some composure. "I can't believe this is happening. I…I feel terrible." He looked at Annie, Midna and I. "I didn't imagine the possibility of my daughter dying before me." He looked at me and at Rose's wrapped-up body in my arms. "They should be done with her casket soon, sometime tonight most likely. Meanwhile maybe we should lay her down?"

I nodded. I took her to her old bedroom and set her body down on the bed. I came back out into the throne room. Everything was eerily quiet. I spoke to him again. "I feel terrible too, sir…she didn't deserve to die." Midna and I spent some time filling him in on everything that happened. Then he switched the subject.

"Tell me, did you really feel like your relationship with Rose wasn't working? I know this is random, but I'm quite curious." He asked me.

I took a deep breath. "Sir, I loved your daughter very much." I said seriously. "I was scared to tell her until moments before she died, but I loved her more than anything."

"Oh." He said with surprise. "I never knew that."

"I had an idea that was what was happening." Tyler said.

"She meant the world to me." I said, starting to tear up. "I'm sorry, sir, I shouldn't be crying like this." I wiped my tears with my hands. "She was my other half…I never felt like that before until she came along. She was truly a very special woman, in so many ways."

"She was really special. So giving…" He was silent.

I thought to myself. I felt sorry for Harold; first he lost his wife, and now he's lost his daughter, too. I then thought to myself about my own feelings about this situation. I have lost someone very special to me, and I feel like it is my fault in a large respect. If only I would have told her how much I loved her at an earlier time, then things would be different. I missed her…so badly…and she hasn't even been dead long.

That night her casket was finished. It was made of oak and had a dark finish. We placed her into the casket and shut the lid. Her funeral was in a week, and I wanted to stay for it, so I stayed in the same spare room that I stayed in when my legs were shattered. When I stayed here the few days before Rose died, I stayed in a different spare room, and going back into this room, I was pleasantly surprised. I saw two picture frames on the end table. One was of Rose and me when I was recuperating and the other was of Rose and I shortly after my legs had recovered. I looked closely at both of them, noticing all of the details. It was bittersweet. There was a knock at the door and I answered it; finding out that Marie was the one who had knocked. Midna was behind her.

"I need to talk to you, Link." Marie said sadly. Midna and I sat on the bed with her. "First I find out that my cousin died, and then I found out that you lied. Why didn't you tell Rose that you loved her?"

"It's…difficult to explain, Marie. I was scared. I didn't know if she cared for me in that way."

She looked sad. "I get it now." She said.

"I'm so sorry. I feel like it's my fault that this happened."

"Don't say that! It isn't your fault! You did all that you could to revive her; you weren't the one that injured her."

"Yeah, but it doesn't stop the pain that I'm feeling inside."

"We all feel that pain." Midna said to me. "I doubt it'll go away very soon."

"Yeah." It was getting late, so we all told each other goodnight and went to bed.

At midnight I went to visit Rose. I stood in front of her casket and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you." I told her. "I wish that you were still here…I feel lost without you. I hope that you're happy…" I paused, and then continued. "We'll be together again someday. I'm looking forward to that. Goodnight." I closed the casket and went back to bed. I didn't know it, but Harold was up at that time too, and he watched me when I was at Rose's casket. The next morning we had breakfast, and then Harold wanted to talk to me. We went to the fountain at the courtyard.

"I saw you last night at Rose's casket. The way you spoke to her and treated her really got me to thinking."

"About what sir?" I inquired.

"…You would have been a good husband to her, I just know it. I now realize it; you two were definitely soul mates." He smiled.

I smiled back at him. "Unfortunately it's too late for that, but I'm glad that you feel that way."

There was temporary silence, and then Harold spoke again. "You'll see…one day you won't be so sad anymore; you'll remember all of the good memories you had with Rose. That's what I had to tell myself about Carol. It hurt to lose her, more than words can ever describe…but I know that everything happens for a reason. You'll see her again."

"I'll be happier when that happens." I looked at the water for a moment. "Thanks for the talk." He nodded. I continued to look at the water as he walked away to leave me at peace.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters. **

**Where we last left off, Rose died due to her injuries. :( Link has been really struggling when it comes to coping with reality. Can he find closure, or will he feel sorrowful over Rose's death forever?**

Chapter 24: The Dream

A few more nights passed, and then it was the night before Rose's funeral. By then, Ilia and some other people had come to Nikitre to join me for the funeral. Everyone was asleep, except for me. I was tossing and turning, discomfort overcoming me. It was sinking in that the woman I loved was going to be buried under the ground for eternity in a matter of hours now. After an hour or two of struggle, I fell asleep at 1:00am, but I didn't remain that way long.

I had the craziest dream…Rose just simply woke up from her eternal slumber and was alive again. Everyone rejoiced, and a couple of weeks later I proposed to her, and then two months passed and we got married. As she and I were walking out of the church, everything was engulfed by a black hole; her, and everything else I knew and loved. All that was left was me; standing alone as an idiot would be in front of the church doors. I woke up with tears rushing down my face like a waterfall. I got up out of bed to get some water and to wipe away the tears. Then I went back to bed and looked at the two pictures of Rose and me before falling asleep.

This time I had a different dream. It felt so real. Rose was with the Goddesses…which would make sense because based on our beliefs, when you die; you join the Goddesses in heaven as a spirit. (Note: A made-up Hylian belief.) She was in grief for leaving the earth so soon. She was on her knees and sobbing with her hands over her eyes. Din put her hand on Rose's shoulder and Rose put her hands down. She looked up at Din with her eyes still misty, but she looked at her with the most sincere determination. "Please…I want to live. I don't want to be apart from Link." She said earnestly.

"It was your time to die; Rose. We cannot give you your life back." Din sighed. "I am sorry." Rose forced Din's hand off her shoulder.

Farore was looking down at the earth and watching everything that was occurring. "Rose, you can watch over him from here."

Rose stood up and looked down at her translucent feet; shaking her head. "That isn't what I want; it isn't what I _need_." She said desperately.

My father walked up to her and put his hand on her back. "That's what I did when I left my son; I begged for my life back. I wanted to be there for him, but it will be okay…someday you will understand why." Rose looked at him. "Link will be here someday, and the two of you will be reunited. Keep that in your mind, and it won't be so hard."

Nayru kept on looking through her book of records. In Hylian folklore, one of her many jobs include keeping track of who dies and why they died. (Made up and not mentioned in the games.) Rose looked at her. "Nayru, was it really my time to die?" she said with a pool of tears in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm afraid." She said bitterly. Rose walked away.

An hour passed, and nothing happened. Then my father walked up to Nayru. "Someone else killed her…she died because of those injuries." He stopped for a moment and turned his attention to Rose, all the while never completely taking his attention off of Nayru. "Look at her; she's miserable. I know it's a hell of a lot to ask, but could you make an exception, just this once? It would make her happy, and it would make Link happy, too. I'd hate to have those two apart for so long. We both know he's going to live a long life."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll do it, but only because we had meant for her to live longer…she wasn't really supposed to die now, but she wasn't supposed to know that her death was a mistake."

His eyes widened. "Oh, that's wonderful!" He smiled.

Nayru told Rose that her death was a mistake and Rose was overjoyed. "It really was a mistake?" She asked.

"Yes." Nayru said. "You will be granted your life back." She smiled. "All that we ask you to do is to go down to where your body is kept so your soul will be joined with your body again." Rose smiled. Without any delay, she went to the open casket where her body lied, and as a spirit she entered her lifeless body and awoke with life again.

The dream felt so real that I woke up and got out of bed. I ran down the stairs to her casket, feeling as weightless as a bird in flight with hopes that she would be alive. I opened the casket, but my hopes were destroyed, and I now felt like a bird with a broken wing; looking hopelessly at the sky. There she was, as dead as she was before. I did not close the casket. I kept it open, believing that if I did so it would perhaps bring her spirit down to the earth like in the dream. Unable to bring myself to going back to sleep, I wandered outside into the courtyard. I looked up at the stars for a moment, noticing the big dipper in the sky. It was pretty, but it did not bring me happiness. I walked over to the pond where Rose and I used to play with the frogs as kids. I looked in the water, and seeing a frog, I smiled; but that smile faded when I saw my own gloomy reflection. I heard a familiar voice to my left. I looked and it was my grandfather, in the form of that golden wolf that I have often seen.

"Link." He said quietly. "Something troubles you…what is it?"

"Someone I deeply care about is not on this earth anymore." I said, looking back at my reflection in the pond.

"Rose, I assume?" He asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Whatever do you mean that she is no longer on this earth?"

"That is all that I mean. She is no longer on this earth." I said; feeling quite confused.

"I just saw her inside…looking for you." He said seriously. "Look at the doorway leading to the courtyard."

I looked at the doorway and couldn't believe my eyes. There was Rose, full of life. I ran over to her, and she was beaming as I embraced her in my arms. "Pinch me! I've got to be dreaming!"

I screamed in pain as Rose pinched me. "You're not dreaming!" She said while laughing.

"How…how are you alive? You were dead!" I looked towards where my grandfather was, but he was gone.

"The Goddesses gave me another chance to live. My death was a mistake."

I was shocked. "So…the dream…?"

"Was me trying to communicate with you. I needed the casket to be opened." She said to me. She tried to kiss me on the cheek, for my mouth was still open in surprise, but I intercepted by kissing her on the lips.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" I said as I hugged her.

"I'm glad too." She said with vivacity.

"What happened?" Harold raced out in his pajamas. "I heard someone scream—" He ran over to Rose and hugged her. "My daughter's alive!" He yelled with glee as he squeezed tighter.

"Dad, you're choking me!" She shouted.

"Alright. I'll let go." He stopped hugging her and put his hand on her head. "I thought I'd never see you again." He said as he began to tear up.

"I love you, dad." She gave him another hug.

Everyone else came running outside soon after and shared in the joy of Rose being alive again.

**…**

I ended up Proposing to Rose about a week later, and we tied the knot in Hyrule within two months. The ceremony was held at a church near Hyrule castle. Everyone I knew was there, including the postman…although I wished he wasn't at the time. We came out of the church, and there was no black hole to bring us to our demise. Ever since then I've learned to live life to the fullest, and to never let my fears prevent me from fulfilling my dreams.

**The End**


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